EastEnders' Cliff to become a dad

EastEnders star Cliff Parisi is set to become a father, according to reports. Cliff - who plays Minty Peterson in the BBC1 soap - is apparently expecting a baby with a BBC production assistant he met three months ago, says The Sun. The actor also plans to marry Tara Wyer, who he met while filming the BBC1 show Let's Dance For Comic Relief earlier this year. A friend said: "They are so happy - Cliff wasted no time in getting down on one knee to pop the question." Tara is said to have moved in with Cliff at his home in Highgate, North London, and they plan to tie the knot later this year. The news comes after Cliff's co-star Steve McFadden - aka Phil Mitchell - had a baby girl with his new partner in June. And it was reported on Monday that Jo Joyner, who plays Tanya Branning, is expecting twins. It could be a case of art imitating life for Cliff - his character Minty could be revealed as the father of Heather Trott's baby. Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk's new weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.