Laura Norton and Mark Jordon put 2020 wedding plans on hold due to coronavirus

Laura Norton and Mark Jordon were forced to put their wedding plans on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The \'Emmerdale\' actress and her former co-star were keen to tie the knot this year, but after making some plans for a 2020 nuptials they have had to shelve them amid the global health crisis and after discovering Laura is expecting their first child together.

Mark - who played Daz Spencer on the ITV soap - said: "We had hoped it would be this year. I went off on a tour and we were planning everything and we were like, \'As soon as the tour is done we can scoot off...\'

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"And now this pandemic has happened. And now something else [Laura\'s pregnancy] has happened."

Laura - who portrays Kerry Wyatt on \'Emmerdale\' - and Mark met on the set of the soap, but after becoming "really good friends" they were reluctant to embark on a relationship in case they ruined their friendship.

The 37-year-old actress said: "When we first told each other we liked each other we just went, \'Shall we just leave it? Shall we just stay as friends? It\'s probably best.\'

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"So, it was months after we actually told each other."

Mark, 55, added: "We were really good friends. We kept re-examining the question and eventually it was a bit more of a question."

But Laura revealed the former \'Heartbeat\' actor - who has children Joseph, 22, and Poppy, 19, with his ex Siobhan Finneran - "got brave" and asked her out, but their first date didn\'t go too well.

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Speaking in a joint interview on \'Loose Women\', Mark said: "That didn\'t go brilliantly, but nevertheless, that was a sign of our life."

Laura added: "That set the tone from the rest of our relationship."

The couple revealed in January 2019 that they were engaged and had kept their engagement a secret for seven months.