EastEnders star Ricky Champ reveals newborn baby son’s unusual name and sweet meaning behind it
EASTENDERS star Ricky Champ has revealed his newborn baby son’s “hippie” name and the sweet meaning behind it.
The actor, who plays Stuart Highway in the BBC soap, welcomed the tot into the world with wife Samantha who was in labour for 37 hours last month.
The pair revealed in a new interview they named their second child River and their four-year-old daughter, Beatrix, is delighted to be a big sister.
Ricky, 42, told OK!: “River just felt right. We didn’t go through a book of baby names – we’ve always prided ourselves on our naming skills.
“I mean, we have two cats called Bruce Willis and Patricia Mayonnaise… that says it all really.
“We told Beatrix about the name River and she started calling him that to Sammy’s tummy when she was pregnant, so we were kind of locked in. But we love it – it’s cool and a bit hippie.”
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Sammy, 34, added: “We had a list of names we both liked, but River was always at the top. I love the Joni Mitchell song River so that was where the idea came from. And his middle name is Leo, which is Ricky’s mother’s maiden name.”
The mum-of-two praised her husband for taking care of her following her unscheduled C-section labour.
She had been booked to go in for a C-section at 39 weeks but her waters broke early.
She said: “He’s an amazing dad. The first two days after the C-section, I stayed upstairs and in bed so I didn’t have to go up and down the stairs with my stitches and he took care of everything, bringing me all my meals in bed, changing River and looking after Beatrix, all on sleepless nights. He’s done a brilliant job.
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The couple welcomed their little girl Beatrix into the world four years ago, and now live in a cosy home in Essex.
Samantha regularly shares photos of their home-life, which includes a cute nursery for their daughter.
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Before joining EastEnders in 2018 as Mick Carter’s (Danny Dyer) nemesis, Ricky was known for his role as Paul Parker in the sitcom Him & Her.
He also appeared in Game of Thrones in Season 6 as Gatins.