Coronation Street viewers have praised Jennie McAlpine for honouring her Coronation Street roots by calling her baby girl Hilda.
Fans have suggested the baby’s name could be in homage to the soap’s iconic character Hilda Ogden, who was played by Jean Alexander from 1964 to 1987.
In 2016, Jean passed away aged 90. She was once voted ‘greatest soap opera star of all time’.
After Jennie announced the moniker, Coronation Street fans pointed out the connection online.
“Love the name #Ogden,” posted one of her followers, while a second added: “Congratulations! You must have been a Hilda Ogden fan.”
Others stressed that they would miss Jennie on the show.
A third fan tweeted: “Congrats Jennie & family Will miss you on Corrie, but have a wonderful time with your new baby girl.”
Jennie said in a previous interview she had taken inspiration from Coronation Street in deciding on baby names, but suggested that was purely as there have been so many characters in Corrie it’s hard not to use names that have appeared on the show!
She told ITV’s Lorraine in April: “They’ll probably be named after a Coronation Street character like Albert was – although not on purpose. But all the gorgeous names have all been in Coronation Street, so it’ll probably be something from that!”
Read more: Next week’s Corrie in 10 pictures
The 34-year-old, who plays the much-loved Fiz, shared the happy news of her daughter’s arrival on Twitter on Tuesday night.
She told fans: “Our newest addition arrived yesterday. Mummy and Daddy very happy. Big brother very proud of his little sister Hilda. We’re all in love (sic)”
Our newest addition arrived yesterday. Mummy and Daddy very happy. Big brother very proud of his little sister Hilda. We’re all in love ❤️
— Jennie McAlpine (@jenniemcalpine) October 30, 2018
Jennie and her husband Chris Farr are already parents to three-year-old son Albert.
The Corrie actress revealed she fell pregnant with her second child after a passionate reunion with Chris following her stint in the I’m A Celeb jungle last year!
She tweeted: “We’ve got a bit of news. Our baby boy is going to be a big brother later this year. We can’t wait to meet you precious one x.”
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The star, who has been a firm fixture in Weatherfield since 2001, plans to return after taking maternity leave. Her last scenes before her temporary departure are expected to air in December.
We’ll miss you, Jennie!
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