Nikki Sanderson reveals baby’s gender as TV couple’s big day looms
Hollyoaks’ Nikki Sanderson has confirmed the gender of her baby ahead of the little tot’s arrival.
Nikki, who is 41, announced her pregnancy in December. She is expecting her first child with fellow soap star Anthony Quinlan, who played Pete Barton in Emmerdale, and Gilly Roach in Hollyoaks.
The couple shared their happy news over the festive period last year, announcing the pregnancy with a touching Instagram video that quickly captured fans’ hearts.
In the clip, Nikki and Anthony are seen decorating their Christmas tree together before opening a box to reveal a special bauble featuring their baby scan. The ornament reads: ‘Baby Quinlan: Arriving 2026.’
Alongside the video, Nikki wrote: ‘Merry Christmas from the 3 of us,’ confirming that she is due to give birth this spring.
With Nikki reaching the last phase of her pregnancy journey, she recently sat down with Anthony to reveal whether they’ll soon be welcoming a little boy or a baby girl into their family.
‘Anthony and I always said that we didn’t mind what we were having as long as our baby is healthy’, the Maxine Minniver actress said.
‘There was no, “I’d love this or that” – we were just over the moon’.
Nikki added in their chat with Closer: ‘But subconsciously, I always felt like I was going to be a boy mum and my family said the same. Whenever I thought about motherhood, I just kept envisioning a baby boy in my arms. Anthony’s thrilled because he’s going to have a mini Manchester United sidekick!’.
At the start of January, Nikki spoke honestly about the journey she’s been on with Anthony as they’ve tried for a baby.
Opening up about the experience, Nikki admitted that after repeated disappointment, she and Anthony had started preparing themselves for IVF treatment before conceiving naturally.
‘Because we’d had a few times where it wasn’t the result we wanted, it was like, “Is this for real?” she explained to OK! Magazine. ‘Even when we found out, it took a while for it to sink in.’
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The actress said the journey had taken an emotional toll on both of them, describing it as one of the most challenging periods of her life.
‘We’ve had a lot of ups and downs in our journey to becoming parents, and it’s been really hard on us,’ Nikki shared. ‘You try to stay positive, but there are moments where it feels overwhelming.’
Anthony, who previously starred in Hollyoaks and Emmerdale, admitted that at times he had almost lost hope that they would conceive without medical assistance. ‘We were kind of resigned to the fact that we may need assistance via IVF,’ he said. ‘We wanted this so much and we were just hoping, hoping, hoping.’
Nikki and Anthony first got together in 2022 and went public with their romance in April of that year. Anthony previously revealed that their relationship began when he messaged Nikki on social media.
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