Jacqueline Jossa is expecting her second child with husband Dan Osborne.

The actress, who plays Lauren Branning in EastEnders, said it was a surprise to learn she was pregnant again.

She told OK! magazine: “We both started laughing when the test was positive – we took two more just to be sure!”

Jossa and former The Only Way Is Essex star Osborne have two-year-old daughter Ella together, and Osborne also has four-year-old son Teddy from a previous relationship.

The couple married in June last year.

Osborne said he feels “quite scared” at the idea of being a father of three.

He said: “We hadn’t been trying so it was a huge shock. I think I’m still getting my head around it.

“Kids are a blessing but having three children is going to be a big responsibility. I’m not going to lie, I feel quite scared!”

He said they do not want a fourth child, and added: “We’re both done after this”.

Jossa said: “I always wanted two kids so this is perfect.

“Daniel might have to book in for the snip because there’s no way I’m having more!”

The 25-year-old soap star said: “I’ve been throwing up nearly every morning, which I’ve found hard because I didn’t have any sickness with Ella.”

EastEnders Christmas special (BBC/Dan Goldsmith)
Jacqueline Jossa as Lauren Branning (left) in EastEnders (BBC/Dan Goldsmith)

She added: “I’ve been thinking a lot about how I could possibly love this child as much as Ella, but I Googled it and saw a lovely saying – mothers don’t halve their love, they double it.

“That put my mind at rest a bit.”

Speaking about her EastEnders role, Jossa said she was initially “really scared” to learn her character would be departing.

Lauren and her sister Abi Branning, played by Lorna Fitzgerald, were seen falling from the roof of the Queen Vic pub in the soap’s dramatic Christmas Day episode.

Jossa’s final scene in EastEnders will air in the coming weeks.