Sunday Mirror (London, England); 11/16/2003
Byline: MAEVE QUIGLEY
OVERJOYED Bally-K star Dervla Kirwan was yesterday celebrating the news she is expecting her first baby.
A pal of the Dublin-born actress and boyfriend Rupert Penry-Jones said the couple are "surprised and delighted" by the news.
Dervla now plans to scale down her acting career so that she can devote more time to motherhood.
A pal said: "Both Dervla and Rupert are both utterly thrilled. It's great news for them although they seem surprised by it."
Dervla and fellow actor Rupert have been dating for two years since they met while appearing in JB Priestly's Dangerous Corner together. The 32-year-old has spoken of her longing for a baby in the past. She said: "There's a great capacity for love for a child inside me. But I want to be a good mother, so certain things would have to take a back seat."
Dervla shot to fame when she starred as feisty pub owner Assumpta in Ballykissangel. At the time she was engaged to television editor Robert Caldwell but fell for her co-star Stephen Tompkinson.
She split with Robert just months before their planned wedding and moved into Stephen's home and fans of the show were delighted when the couple announced their engagement in 1997. But the relationship foundered after four years and Dervla then began dating Kiss Me Kate star Darren Boyd. She was introduced to Darren over drinks after watching a play he was in.
But after a two-year romance the relationship came to an end when she fell for heart throb star Rupert Penry-Jones while working with him in Leeds.
Tall, blonde Rupert starred in the film Charlotte Gray but is probably best known for his role in the Channel 4 legal drama North Square. When the couple took to the stage in Leeds there was an instant attraction between them. A friend said at the time: "There was an immediate strong attraction between them. Working together in Leeds has been an intense experience so it was inevitable they'd get together."
Rupert, who once dated pop star Kylie Minogue, said this year the couple were not planning to move in together or get married in the near future. But their plans may change now that they are to become a family. Rupert and Dervla have vowed to keep their relationship out of the media spotlight and prefer to keep a low profile on the celebrity circuit.