He has played several different characters over the years, including Detective Inspector Gavin Brogan in Love/Hate, but Aaron Heffernan has now taken on a new role.
The Dublin actor has starred in several well-known shows, such as Brassic and War of the Worlds, while his wife, Mairead Doyle Heffernan, is also successful in her own right as a comedian based in London.
The couple tied the knot in 2021 in London, and now their family has grown as they've welcomed their first child into the world.
Aaron and Mairead are now parents to their little boy, whom they have named Ariel, and he is their rainbow baby.
Mairead shared a moving post on Friday, revealing alongside a photo of herself and her son that this time last year she suffered a missed miscarriage.
She wrote: ‘I had been pregnant for two months and it was one of the saddest and hardest things I have ever gone through! I used to think a miscarriage was something you easily move on from once you get pregnant again but I now know that isn’t the reality.
‘Although meeting my baby boy helped me make sense of every hurdle and detour that got me here, the pain and sadness is something I’ll never forget.'
Mairead went on to say that she wanted to make her post because 'strangers on the internet' were among those who helped her through the tough times.
‘I spent months last year scouring Reddit or podcasts or Instagram to give me hope that I would be pregnant again and it would be “successful” so if I can give someone struggling right now a tiny fraction of hope I want to,' she said. 'I know my story is positive - and often it doesn’t end in a pregnancy just a few months later for everyone - but if you’re looking for a sign that you will get pregnant again and meet your rainbow baby soon I hope this can help!'
Mairead concluded: ‘I often wonder what our “little spark” (as Aaron calls it) would have been like. But over the last two and a half weeks, I have come to the realisation that Ariel is the angel that was meant for us and that after all the heartache through loss and through difficulties of my pregnancy: it was all absolutely worth it.'
Mairead and Aaron announced Ariel's arrival at the start of August by taking part in a viral trend and it's clear that the new dad is smitten with his son.
When he shared the first snap of Ariel all cosy in his car seat with a personalised blanket embroidered with his name, Aaron wrote: 'What a life looking at the face of heaven.'
Mairead and Aaron announced they were expecting in March with a black-and-white photo of themselves and the caption: 'July can’t come quick enough.'
The lovely baby news comes amid an exciting year for Love/Hate fans as John Connors, who played Patrick Ward, has hinted that the series could be making a return.
Touching on his 'Love/Hate will return' announcement on the Six O'Clock Show that shocked the nation, the actor said: 'Now, the other day what happened was I thought that [Virgin Media] got a scent that this was happening, and there was meant to be a press release coming, and I sort of spoiled the whole thing.'
'And now the press release is not coming! But this is kind of what I do. I'm an impulsive person. I just thought it'd be fun to surprise them. You know, so it did surprise people. But people think I'm trolling, right?' John added.
