Soap star's baby to undergo surgery

Distressed: Elaine Lordan is concerned for her new son, but is optimistic for the future
Laura Scott|Pa11 April 2012
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Former EastEnders star Elaine Lordan has given birth to a son four weeks prematurely, it was confirmed today.

Baby James Garrett Manuel was born on Monday in a London hospital, but is suffering from a congenital diaphragmatic hernia for which he will need a corrective operation.

Following his delivery by planned Caesarean section at around 11.20am, he has been in a special care baby unit, and he will stay in hospital until he has surgery, according to the actress's agent.

In a statement, she said: "Elaine and Pete have been aware from early on in the pregnancy that baby James was suffering from a congenital diaphragmatic hernia and he would need corrective surgery.

"No date is yet set for surgery, but James is doing well and although both Elaine and Pete are both concerned for their new son, they are optimistic for his future."

She added: "They would like to thank all staff involved in the ante- and post-natal care of James for their dedication, commitment and support.

"Obviously Elaine and Pete hope that they are allowed to peacefully deal with their current situation but look forward to showing James off as soon as is possible."

And she confirmed the actress is still in hospital herself, recovering from the delivery.

The 37-year-old, who lives with her boyfriend Peter Manuel in north London, left her EastEnders role playing troubled Slater sister Lynne Hobbs in July.
She denied reports that the BBC1 show's bosses sacked her over reports of her drinking.

Last year Lordan was convicted of drink-driving and banned from the road for a year.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in