Adele Silva has revealed she turned down a return to Emmerdale because she is pregnant after a string of miscarriages.
It is the first time the 34-year-old soap actress has spoken out about her heartbreak.
She told Hello! magazine: "Some of my friends will be shocked to learn about my previous pregnancies and miscarriages, as I kept them to myself.
"But I want other women to know there's light at the end of the tunnel. Every day now I just think: 'Wow'."
Adele, who is 22 weeks pregnant, said she did not return for her on-screen sister's final scenes in the soap because she wanted to concentrate on her first child with businessman fiance Oliver Farber.
She said: "I want this to be a success story.
"It sounds awful but I wasn't remotely excited before my five-month scan.
"I didn't want to think about it just in case it was bad news. Now I'm excited but I always touch wood. I know I'm extremely lucky to get this far."
Read the full interview in Hello! magazine, out now.
