EastEnders' Sid Owen cried for days after becoming a dad for first time at 50

Watch: Sid Owen opens up on becoming a dad at 50

Sid Owen has said he 'cried for days' after becoming a father for the first time at the age of 50.

The former EastEnders star — best known for playing Ricky Butcher in the BBC soap from 1988 to 2012 — is the proud dad to baby daughter Skye, born at the end of January, and said his partying days are now behind him.

Owen appeared on Good Morning Britain with fiancée Victoria Shores and their baby daughter and confessed it felt 'amazing' to finally be a dad.

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He said: "I couldn’t stop looking at her for three, four days, crying my eyes out! It is a miracle.

"I don’t regret not having them younger, I got the partying days out of the way and now I can really appreciate it.”

The reality TV star revealed how Shores had undergone an emergency Caesarean after suffering a placenta previa — when the placenta blocks the baby from being born naturally — and losing almost two litres of blood.

Owen said: “It was touch and go, you almost weren’t with us. You nearly bled to death."

He added: “It was the worst thing after all we’d been through and then this. I was trying to look on the bright side, googling straight away, ‘Could be the first signs of labour’, so it freaked me out a bit.

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“When she spoke to the emergency services they said, ‘No, it’s not a good sign’ so I’m freaking out but she’s very cool - jumping in the shower, blow drying her hair, and I’m like, ‘How can you be so calm?’ But it was a real tough few days and thank God we got through it."

Owen originally met Shores at a party thrown by Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood in 1998 and they rekindled their relationship in 2020 after connecting on Facebook.

She has two children from a previous relationship and they are set to tie the knot in September.

Owen is hoping Al Pacino might be a guest at the wedding as they worked together in the 1985 film Revolution.

And his best man will be Adele's ex-husband Simon Konecki.

Owen said: “My best man? It’s a toughie. I might have to have two or three. Definitely Simon. I‘ve been friends with him for years. Since we were teenagers.”

Read more: Sid Owen says Al Pacino 'considered adopting' him after starring in film together

The actor last appeared in EastEnders in 2012. He took part in I'm A Celebrity in 2005 and Strictly Come Dancing in 2012. And in 2016 he appeared on Channel 4 skiing show The Jump.