Blackpool's Nicola Thorp gives birth to a baby girl, her first child with actor Nikesh Patel

35-year-old Nicola Thorp, who most recently hosted her own show on Talk Today, has welcomed a baby girl with Nikesh Patel, 28, best known for his role in the sitcom Starstruck.

The former Arnold School pupil made the announcement at 9pm last night (Thursday, January 4) although it was not clear what time the baby was actually born.

In a dual Instagram post, self proclaimed “Sandgrown’un” Nicola shared an image of herself and her fiance holding their newborn daughter's hand, along with an image of text written by the pair.

The statement began: "We are delighted to say that we recently welcomed our beautiful baby daughter into the world. Everything they say about birth being a rollercoaster of emotions is true. We're shattered and smitten and everything in between. "

Alongside the heartfelt announcment, the proud parents then went on to share a message concerning the current crisis in Gaza.

The joint statement continued: "Social media is a difficult place right now. If your timeline is anything like ours, it's filled with images of babies and children dying in conflict or living in fear and unimaginable danger. It doesn't feel right to share our news on here without also acknowledging how fortunate we are that our baby is safe.

"If like us you feel helpless, please consider donating to the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency, who are responding to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and supporting pregnant women, new mums and their babies.

"Every child deserves to be born into safety."

In the image caption, Nicola then shared a link to the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency's Instagram account and their Gaza appeal.

Leading the congratulation messages under the birth announcement was Nicola's former Coronation Street colleague Sue Cleaver who wrote: "Cant wait to meet my Goddaughter ❤️❤️❤️❤️"

TV Presenters Dermot O'Leary, Josie Gibson and Vanessa Feltz commented "Huge congrats xx", "Congratulations!" and "Congratulations! So thrilled with your wonderful news" respectively.

Fellow Blackpool actress Hayley Tamaddon also commented "Huge congratulations", Line of Duty star Aiysha Hart said "Huge congrats 🥰❤️" and former Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley wrote: "Congratulations guys. Lots of love x

BBC radio 1 presenter Clara Amfo meanwhile praised Nicola and Nikesh for making a stand, writing "Congratulations and YES💛 xxx"