It’s been a haze of joy for Michelle Keegan, who just celebrated three months with daughter Palma. And she’s clearly loving her new role as a mum judging by her Instagram, which is full of idyllic scenes from family holidays and time at home with husband Mark Wright.
But while Palma is clearly already living a far more glamorous life than the rest of us, Michelle is keen for her to have as normal a childhood as possible – and we’re told the actress is horrified by suggestions her baby could be a star.
Our source says, ‘Palma is so beautiful and with Michelle and Mark’s jobs being in front of the camera, friends and family have been saying they should sign her up to an agency. More than a few people have said Palma appears to already be showing signs she could be a little performer. But it’s actually a terrifying thought for Michelle, and she wants to protect Palma at all costs. The idea of her entering showbusiness is the last thing she wants.’
Palma arrived on 6 March, two months ahead of Mark and Michelle’s 10-year wedding anniversary. The couple, who are both 38, got together in 2012, when Michelle was one of the most popular stars of Coronation Street and Mark was riding high on the success of TOWIE, which he’d left the previous year.
Despite both of them being firm fixtures in the spotlight, Michelle previously said, ‘Mark and I feel lucky to work in this industry, but it doesn’t dominate our lives. We dip our toe in, then step back to normal life. It’s very boring and probably quite basic, but that’s how we like it.’
And our source emphasises that the last thing on Michelle’s mind right now is her daughter’s future career, saying, ‘While she smiles sweetly at the suggestion when anyone has mentioned Palma growing up to be an actress or a star, it turns Michelle completely cold. She is really putting her foot down and can’t believe everyone is already talking about Palma’s future in the entertainment industry. She doesn’t want her going anywhere near it and firmly believes she should wait until her daughter is at least 18 to do anything professional.’
Michelle started her on-screen career in 2008, playing Tina McIntyre in Corrie. After six years on the cobbles, she won the lead role in BBC drama Our Girl. Since then, her star has only continued to rise, and she’s become best known for her star turn in Brassic, which finishes this year after seven seasons, and her role in Netflix series Fool Me Once, which reportedly caught the attention of Hollywood execs.
But despite her own hugely successful career, we’re told, ‘Michelle got her big break when she was 20, and before that worked as a make-up artist at Selfridges and as a check-in desk worker at Manchester Airport. She found those years so important in building her strength of character, and she’s heard such horror stories about child stars. She feels really torn as she knows she can only shield Palma from so much and hates the idea of her getting the acting bug before she’s even turned into a teenager.’
Before her daughter arrived, Michelle spoke about what kind of parents she and Mark wanted to be, saying, ‘As long as a child feels loved and safe, you can’t go far wrong.’ And she’s standing by that, as our source tells us, ‘She wants to give Palma as normal an upbringing as she can, even though she knows it will be hard with her and Mark being in the public eye.’