Emily Atack’s new boyfriend and father of her unborn baby is her stepcousin, MailOnline can reveal.
The Inbetweeners actress proudly announced on Instagram last week that she is expecting her first baby with her boyfriend Dr Alistair Garner.
Posting a black and white photo showing off her baby bump, Emily, 34, told her 1.9million followers she was ‘over the moon’ to be five months pregnant and expecting her first baby in April.
Emily and Alistair recently set up home together to prepare for the baby’s arrival.
Now we can reveal that Emily’s mother Kate Robbins is the sister of Alistair’s stepmother Jane Garner.
Emily Atack ‘s new boyfriend and father of her unborn baby is her stepcousin, MailOnline can reveal
Emily and Alistair have only been pictured together once as they were seen getting cosy in London in September 2023
Emily has known Alistair for almost three decades. They were introduced after Emily’s aunt started dating Alistair’s father Stephen Garner in the early nighties before they got married in 1994.
Alistair, 37, who is a nuclear scientist, appears in a photo of the close-knit family in 2017 where he’s surrounded by female members of Emily’s family and has his arm draped around the star’s sister, Martha. The caption read: ‘He’s just one of the girls really.’
Emily, whose mother Kate is separated from her singer father Keith, is also close to her showbiz relatives including Phoenix Night’s star uncle Ted Robbins and her other auntie, former soap actress Amy Robbins.
Emily and Alistair kept their relationship secret for some time but grew close over the past year and have recently moved in together.
A source told MailOnline: ‘Emily and Alistair have grown close over the past 12 months.
‘It was unexpected but their family is delighted for them. They make a great couple and everybody is excited for their new arrival.’
MailOnline has contacted Emily’s reps for comment.
The star revealed she is expecting her first baby last weekend. She posted the snap of her bump, telling her followers she’s ‘never been so happy and terrified at the same time’.
Emily did not mention Alistair’s name in the lengthy post, preferring to refer to the couple as ‘we’.
Alistair gained his PhD at Manchester University doing a project sponsored by Rolls Royce, before moving on to work as a researcher and lecture there.
He currently works for Jacobs as a materials scientist. They were picture together in London’s Chinatown in September, walking hand-in-hand before stopping for a drink at Cafe Bohem. Emily would have been secretly pregnant at the time.
Alistair’s mother Morag split from his father when he was a youngster.
His stepmother Jane was once in a pop band with Emily’s mother called Prima Donna.
In 1980, the group represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in third place with the song ‘Love Enough for Two’.
The sisters have remained close and appear in one photo on Kate’s Instagram with the caption ‘FaaaaamilyInnit’.
She remained in the entertainment business ever since, working in television and film making props and sets, using her talent as a sculptor.
Jane also created a life-size bronze sculpture of the late Linda McCartney holding a lamb installed in the grounds of the Campbeltown Museum in Scotland.
Emily’s late uncle Steve, who is Alistair’s father, passed away last year
The animal rights activist, who died in 1998, was the former partner of Sir Paul McCartney, who is Jane’s mother’s first cousin.
Alistair started dating Emily following her split from former Big Brother star and tree surgeon ex-boyfriend, Liam McGough, last year.
She has previously been linked with superstar singer Harry Styles, comedian and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Seann Walsh and footballer Jack Grealish. Emily found fame playing Charlotte e in cult comedy series The Inbetweeners, which turned her into a lads mag favourite.
Since the sitcom she starred in the movie remake of Dad’s Army, finished runner-up in the 2018 series of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! and starred in her own ITV2 comedy sketch show.
She also received praise for her 2023 documentary Emily Atack: Asking for It? which explored why she is sexually harassed online on a daily basis and delved into why the blame for unwanted sexual attention is regularly placed on the victim.
Emily spent some time out of the limelight before revealing her pregnancy with Alistair last weekend.
Her full Instagram statement read: ‘Hello Everyone, it’s been a little while but I’m back with some news. I’m delighted to share with you all that we’re having a baby!! ‘I’ve never been so happy and utterly terrified at the same time.
‘Please go easy on me. Every day is mixed with thrill, fear, joy, hysteria, topped off with a lot of vomiting – a bit like when you’ve just stepped off of the Oblivion at Alton Towers on a hangover.
‘I’ve got to know my body on such an insane level. It’s made me appreciate the one I’ve been given SO much, I’m doing my absolute best to make it a home for the little squid I’m growing.
‘We can already sense the baby is reclined on a mattress of peanut butter and jam sandwiches in there, demanding more chocolate buttons. ‘I’m so happy to be writing all of this to you all. You’ve always stuck by me through the years, do stick around to watch me enter my mum era. Christ. Let’s go.’
