KIMBERLEY Walsh laughs as she reveals her plan for a large brood of children has gone awry since the reality of looking after an energetic toddler while expecting another baby.

The 34-year-old, from Allerton, Bradford, describes motherhood as “amazing”, but not as easy as she expected.

“I started out saying ‘I definitely want four kids’ but now, when I see parents with four or five I’m like, ‘Wow, well done but, er, how do you do that?’ I honestly don’t know whether I’d manage four, so I’m definitely not making any more promises about numbers,” she says.

“Let’s just say the family’s growing slowly but surely.”

Kimberley’s second baby with husband Justin Scott is due at Christmas. The couple have a two-year-old son, Bobby.

“I’m glad I’m having this baby now while I’ve got some energy - dwindling as it may be!” she says.

“Motherhood’s changed my life - it brings out your emotional side but I’ve realised there’s no off-switch. It can be tough with no time for rest, especially when you’re running around after a busy toddler.”

Kimberley is supporting Pampers and UNICEF’s Amazing Babies campaign, aiming to eliminate maternal and newborn tetanus. She says she’s “proud to be able to play a part in helping mothers have healthy babies and to help save lives”.

This year has been quite a whirlwind for the singer and musical theatre star. She and Justin married in February in a lavish ceremony in Barbados, with her former Girls Aloud bandmates Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Nicola Roberts as bridesmaids. A few weeks later she discovered she was pregnant.

“Justin and I have been together 13 years, so we waited a long time to marry. In the end, Bobby gave us the impetus to become a family officially. It made our wedding day even more emotional because he was with us,” says Kimberley, jokingly revealing that her little boy’s presence turned the occasion into “carnage”.

“He was a page boy and supposed to walk down the aisle with my three nephews and my best friend’s little boy, but it turned into chaos as they all tripped up, fell over and were stepping over one another.

"Bobby only made it half-way down because he decided to lie down and take a nap!” she laughs.

"Just as we’d finished saying our vows, with perfect timing, Bobby shouted out, ‘Yeah!’ It was so sweet that he made himself totally part of our perfect day. Finding out I was pregnant a few weeks later was the best wedding gift.”

Kimberley continues to forge a new career in television and musical theatre - in 2011 she made her West End debut in Shrek the Musical, was a runner-up in Strictly Come Dancing in 2012, and starred last year in Elf: The Musical.

Currently, she’s trying to prepare Bobby for the arrival of his sibling.

“I’m hoping to get him used to the idea of having a brother or sister. Bobby talks to the baby in my tummy,” she says.

He appears to share his parents’ musical genes. Justin was in boy band Triple 8, who recorded for the same label as Girls Aloud, before becoming a property developer.

"Bobby’s got rhythm, can clap in time and even change beats from double to single!,” says Kimberley.

“I’d perform at the drop of a hat as a kid, so I’d support him if he followed in our footsteps, but I’m encouraging him to go to work with his dad when he’s renovating properties so he can see as much of that practical world as possible.”

She adds: “Justin’s a wonderful dad and so hands-on and that’s kind of made our relationship grow. Although he’d had experience with his daughter, Chloe, 16, when he was very young, I didn’t know if he’d have quite the same enthusiasm going back and starting again, but he loved it from the start.”

Kimberley, who found fame at 21 when she auditioned for ITV’s Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, is buoyant about the future.

“Life’s about finding the right balance, which I think I have so far. I’ve learnt you just have to go with the flow and hope things work themselves out - and they generally do.”

l Kimberley Walsh is supporting the Pampers UNICEF campaign. For every specially marked pack of Pampers purchased, Pampers will donate the equivalent cost of one vaccine to help UNICEF in the fight against Maternal and Newborn Tetanus (MNT).