Gemma Atkinson paid tribute to her late father as she shared a photo from a recent mountain hike in Spain.

The former Emmerdale actress, who is expecting her first child with Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Marquez, climbed Mount Teide in the Canary Islands last week.

The 34-year-old said the walk had been “bitter sweet” because it was a route she used to take with her father David, who died from a heart attack at the age of 52 when she was 17.

Pre-empting backlash on social media, Atkinson warned off any “pregnancy police” who might criticise her for trekking.

She said: “Last week me and Gorks climbed Mount Teide (it’s a drive, cable car and flat walk before the pregnancy police start on me).

“I haven’t been here since my dad passed away. We used to come every year and do the hike so it was bitter sweet, but I know he somehow helped drag me up there.”

Atkinson revealed her pregnancy news earlier this year by sharing a picture on Instagram of her two dogs.

She met Marquez while competing on Strictly in 2017.