‘Emmerdale’ bosses weren’t joking when they promised plenty of shocks in this week’s episodes and in Tuesday’s (3 October) show, Moira Barton gave birth on the floor as explosions ravaged the barn.
Until Monday (2 October), fans - and Moira herself - had no idea that she was expecting a baby, but bosses have now revealed that previous episodes of the soap included two small hints at what was to come.
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Moira gave birth after escaping the giant blaze
ITV Pictures
The first came just weeks ago, when Lawrence White was left somewhat dumbfounded when his blood test results showed he was pregnant.
Obviously, Lawrence wasn’t with child but a handful of fans did spot that Moira was in the doctor’s surgery on the same day and figure the whole thing out:
Following the baby revelation, actress Natalie J. Robb has now revealed that there was one other subtle hint.
“On reflection she has recently felt tired but that was her only true symptom,” she said. “I expect, people won’t probably believe that she had no symptoms but when I was doing research I was in contact with a really lovely lady called Caroline, who suddenly went into a surprise labour much like Moira.
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Moira is claiming the baby's dad is her nephew Pete(!)
ITV Pictures
“It was not her first child either so she had been pregnant a few times before but despite this Caroline also didn’t know she was pregnant until she went into labour.
“She also had just felt a bit tired much like Moira and she explained her figure didn’t really change so her bump wasn’t visible so she had no awareness until she went into labour.”
Emmerdale’s bumper week of action will continue on Wednesday 4 October at 7pm. Catch up on all the latest soap news and spoilers here.
"I very much regret that a moment's stupidity has cast a shadow over what I consider one of Britain's best shows of which I'm thoroughly proud to be a part," he said. "I am wholeheartedly ashamed of my behaviour and feel that I have let down my colleagues, as well as my friends and family." (credit:Getty Images)
Danniella Westbrook(02 of20)
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Danniella Westbrook was fired from her role in 'EastEnders' as the Mitchell brother's little sister Sam due to her cocaine use in 1996.
20 years later, she returned to Albert Square for the funeral of her soap mum, Peggy Mitchell, and courted controversy once again with her remarks about her short stint. (credit:Getty Images)
Danniella Westbrook (Again)(03 of20)
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However, her 'EastEnders' stint wasn't Danniella's only brush with controversy in Soapland.
She later landed a role in 'Hollyoaks', but had her time on the show cut short due to what was described by the soap as a "breach of contract". (credit:Channel 4)
Luke Tittensor(04 of20)
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'Emmerdale' terminated Luke's contract in 2009, when he pleaded guilty to an attack on a 16-year-old, which left the victim with a broken jaw.
A soap spokesperson said at the time: 'As Luke has pleaded guilty to the serious charge of GBH and we cannot condone criminal behaviour, we have met with Luke and his agent to explain his contract with 'Emmerdale' will be terminated.' (credit:Karwai Tang via Getty Images)
Katie Redford(05 of20)
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Katie caused a stir before she'd even appeared on the 'Coronation Street' cobbles, when it emerged that she'd lied about her age to bag the part of teenager Bethany Platt.
The role later went to actual teenager Lucy Fallon. (credit:Katie Redford)
Craig Charles(06 of20)
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Craig Charles was suspended from his role as Coronation Street's Lloyd Mullaney when The Mirror published pictures of him allegedly smoking crack cocaine in 2006. (credit:Getty Images)
Stephanie Davis(07 of20)
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The circumstances surrounding Stephanie's 'Hollyoaks' departure remain a mystery, but she's repeatedly denied claims that she was given the push for turning up to work drunk. (credit:Mike Marsland via Getty Images)
Adam Thomas(08 of20)
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'Emmerdale' actor Adam Thomas was forced to apologise for homophobic comments made to a gay student who approached him in a McDonalds.
After Ricky Platts exposed Adam for calling him a 'gay boy' and his friends 'queers', Adam said: “I deeply apologise for my actions and I am horrified to realise that I have caused offence." (credit:Getty Images)
Shona McGarty(09 of20)
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Shona was suspended from her role as EastEnders' Whitney Dean after repeatedly turning up late to filming. Bosses slapped her with a four-week suspension without pay. (credit:Getty Images)
Ricky Norwood(10 of20)
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Ricky was suspended from 'EastEnders' for two months when a video surfaced showing him smoking cannabis on webcam while performing a sex act on himself.
His character, Fatboy, was later killed off in a dramatic Boxing Day stunt. (credit:James Shaw/Rex/Shutterstock)
Chris Fountain(11 of20)
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Chris was infamously axed from 'Corrie' when it emerged that he'd uploaded a rap video onto YouTube, with lyrics describing violence towards women. (credit:McPix Ltd/Rex/Shutterstock)
Hollie-Jay Bowes(12 of20)
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Hollie-Jay played Michaela McQueen for four years in 'Hollyoaks', but announced she was leaving in 2010, with reports suggesting it came at the end of a string of rows with soap producers. (credit:Mark Cuthbert via Getty Images)
Peter Adamson(13 of20)
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Back in 1983, Len Fairclough actor Peter Adamson was sacked from 'Coronation Street' when it emerged that he'd been selling stories about his co-stars to the tabloid press. (credit:Neville Marriner / Associated Newspapers/REX/Shutterstock)
Khali Best(14 of20)
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Khali Best was given a three-month suspension from 'Eastenders' for "bad behaviour", which later turned out to have been beating up a taxi driver when he refused to pay his fare. (credit:BBC)
Parry Glasspool(15 of20)
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'Hollyoaks' fans called for Parry to be sacked after he uploaded a shocking video on Instagram where he pretended to be a knife-wielding ex-girlfriend. (credit:Instagram)
After snaps were published in a Sunday paper, Michelle hit back on Twitter writing: "Oh hell... Apparently I'm a 'crack addict' Hahahaha!! Yeah... Ok!" (credit:Michelle Keegan/Twitter)
Steve McFadden(17 of20)
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'EastEnders' bosses stood by Steve McFadden after he was embroiled in a dogging scandal.
Lucy Beale may have been the wild child of Walford, but 'EastEnders' actress Melissa Suffield found herself out of a job when her off-screen life took a similar turn. "I was a naughty girl outside of work, well that's what they have sacked me for, pathetic!" the teen wrote on her web page at the time. (credit:Getty Images)
Bruce Jones(19 of20)
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While Bruce Jones was on a suspension from his role as Coronation Street's Les Battersby in 2007 for allegedly making inappropriate comments in front of an undercover reporter, he was reportedly caught delivering a racist rant in a pub, about phone workers "not speaking English properly". (credit:Getty Images)
Shaun Williamson(20 of20)
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In one of the biggest pantomime controversies we've heard of in recent years, Shaun Williamson claimed his character, Barry, was reportedly killed off in 'EastEnders' because he accepted a pantomime job without consulting producers first. (credit:Steve Meddle/Rex/Shutterstock)