Coronation Street’s Julia Goulding has officially gone on maternity leave

Coronation Street's Julia Goulding has officially gone on maternity leave.

The actress, who plays Shona Ramsey, announced in May that she and her husband, Ben Silver, were expecting their first child. "Ben and I are delighted to announce that we are expecting our first baby at the end of this year," she said at the time. "We are absolutely overjoyed and can't wait to meet our little one!" Earlier this week, Jane Danson - who plays Leanne Battersby on Corrie - took to Instagram to celebrate the start of the mum-to-be's maternity leave. She posted an adorable photo of the two of them, encouraging her friend to "enjoy this special time." "Happy maternity leave beautiful @julia_goulding," she wrote. "Im so excited for you. Enjoy this special time. Happiest days." And while Shona will be leaving the cobbles for a little while, the actress confirmed earlier this year that she had signed a one-year contract extension - so, she'll definitely be back.

I’m so thrilled to say I’ve just signed to stay on the cobbles of @itvcorrie for another year! I’ll be having a baby break when the time comes but Shona will be back! #shonaramsey #coronationstreet

— Julia Goulding (@juliagoulding) July 1, 2019

"I'm so thrilled to say I've just signed to stay on the cobbles of @itvcorrie for another year!" Julia wrote at the time. "I'll be having a baby break when the time comes but Shona will be back!"