Hackney Chronicle: Former Hollyoaks stars Nikki Sanderson and Anthony Quinlan have welcomed their first child together

Two former Hollyoaks stars have welcomed their first child together and shared the news in a heartwarming post. Nikki Sanderson, who played Maxine Minniver on the Channel 4 soap between 2012 and 2025, announced her pregnancy last year on Christmas Eve. She later revealed she was expecting a baby boy with Anthony Quinlan, who also featured on Hollyoaks as Gilly Roach between 2005 and 2011. In an Instagram post on Saturday (April 25), Nikki shared a black and white photo of her son with the words "Hello World". A post shared by Nikki Sanderson (@niknaksanderson) In the caption, she wrote: "Happy due date little man 🩵. "You blessed our lives a few days earlier than expected and filled our world with so much joy 🩵. "Daddy and Mummy love you so much Son 🩵." Plenty of people flocked to the comments to offer their congratulations to the couple. Gemma Atkinson, who played Lisa Hunter on Hollyoaks, said: "Oh his hair 🥹🥹 beautiful! Congratulations ❤️." Her partner, Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Marquez, also wrote: "OMG 😍 BEST NEWS GUYS ❤️❤️." Meanwhile, Coronation Street star Samia Longchambon posted: "Oh my!! "Massive congratulations to you all can’t wait to meet little man!" "I always felt like I was going to be a boy mum" Nikki previously opened up about having a boy, admitting she'd had an inkling she was going to be a boy mum. Speaking to The Closer, she shared: "Anthony and I always said that we didn't mind what we were having as long as our baby is healthy. Recommended reading: Ant and Dec make digs at I'm A Celeb final chaos in Britain's Got Talent semi-final The BBC makes 'difficult' decision to axe football show after 'incredible' 52 years Strictly faces 'radical' change as spin-off show to be 'dumped' and hosts replaced "There was no, 'I'd love this or that' – we were just over the moon. "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!"