Shortland Street star Amelia Reid-Meredith announces pregnancy

Shortland Street star Amelia Reid-Meredith is expecting a baby with her husband Shadon. Photo / Michael Craig

Shortland Street star Amelia Reid-Meredith and her actor hubby Shadon Meredith have returned from a romantic Raratonga holiday with a surprising souvenir: a baby is on the way.

Children featured "somewhere in the five-year plan" for the couple, but Reid-Meredith, who plays receptionist Bella Cooper on Shorties, tells New Idea the pregnancy came as a surprise.

"On that holiday, we talked about wanting something epic to happen in our lives, something big. Talk about being careful what you wish for," she told the mag.

The couple met while studying acting in Wellington and later created a theatre company together.

While Reid-Meredith was worried about telling her Shortland Street bosses about their surprising news, producers have found a way for her pregnancy to work with her on-screen character.

"Angela Bloomfield [who plays Rachel McKenna] helped me to tell them. They were incredible about it and have given me so much support," she says.

At 23 weeks pregnant, Meredith-Reid is also hoping for another surprise regarding the sex of their baby - something for the couple plan to save for the birth as the pregnancy develops on TV screens across the nation.

For the full story, read this week's New Idea

- nzherald.co.nz