Baby brings a Friel good factor

Anna Friel, who feared she may never have children, is three months' pregnant.

The former Brookside actress was seen flinging her arms into the air and screaming, 'I'm pregnant,' as she left a London clinic.

Her boyfriend, 41-year-old Harry Potter actor David Thewlis, accompanied her to her appointment but took a walk, presumably to calm his nerves, while Miss Friel, pictured right, was seeing the doctor.

The pair have been dating for four years and share houses in London and Windsor.

Miss Friel, 28, was told by doctors three years ago that she would be unlikely to fall pregnant after she turned 30. She suffers from endometriosis, caused when the tissue which usually lines the womb develops in the lower abdomen.

It is the second most common gynaecological condition in the UK, affecting around two million women, and often leads to infertility.

Miss Friel's condition was discovered four years ago when she underwent two blood transfusions for a ruptured ovarian cyst.

'I saw one doctor who told me it would be very hard if I left trying for a baby beyond the age of 30,' she said at the time.

'It is far from an ideal situation. I come from a very close family and I'd want that for my children, too. But I just have to face the fact that there is nothing I can do about it.

'If I allowed myself to become down and depressed then there would be no time for real life.

'I really want children, but ideally would have liked to have a choice on timing. In this case, my mind is made up for me.'

Other celebrities who suffer from endometriosis include former Spice Girl Emma Bunton and singer Louise Redknapp. Miss Redknapp recently gave birth to her first child after undergoing laser surgery for the condition.