The Actresses Who Carried On Filming While Pregnant (And The Genius Ways The Bump Was Disguised – Or Worked Into The Script)

Hayden Panettiere – Nashville

Actress Hayden is currently pregnant with fiance Wladimir Klitschko's baby, but instead of trying to cover her growing bump on the Nashville set, it was worked into the script. Her character Juliette falls pregnant on the show (series 3), but you'll have to watch the show when it airs in the UK to find out who's the father of her unexpected baby...

Alyson Hannigan – How I Met Your Mother

The HIMYM actress was pregnant for the majority of Season Four; cue extra-large handbags and even an eating competition, where the actress showed off her bulging stomach. (That’s some bloating).

Kerry Washington – Scandal

The production team of political thriller Scandal, starring Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, had quite a task on their hands when the actress announced her pregnancy during Season Three. The show’s producers underwent a vast cover-up operation (never have you seen the character hide behind so many large lamps). It fooled no one and, in the end, the series was cut short.

January Jones – Mad Men

Did you wonder why January Jones’s Mad Men character Betty Draper got fat in Series Five? The producers decided to add the storyline of Betty’s weight gain to hide the actress’s pregnancy. Complete with a fatsuit. Yep, they went the whole nine yards.

Claire Danes – Homeland

Oh the wonders of technology. Claire Danes’s pregnant belly was CGI’d out of most shots in Series Two, but her character Carrie then got pregnant on the show in the following series (We all know about sod's law when it comes to pregnancy timing…)

Courtney Cox – Friends

Courtney’s pregnancy caused issues, due to the fact that her character Monica and husband Chandler couldn’t have children on the show. Awkward. Instead, the producers resorted to dressing the star in baggy clothing and long, unflattering scarves…(Image: Getty)

Cobie Smulders - How I Met Your Mother

Weeks after Alyson announced her pregnancy, the production team had quite a shock when fellow HIMYM star Cobie revealed that she was also expecting. Craig Thomas, executive producer, said, ‘After the shock wore off, we found a way to write around it or have fun with it.’

Sarah Jessica Parker – Sex and the City

Fashionista Carrie’s outfits during Season Five of Sex and the City clearly had a flowing, bohemian feel in order for the actress to film while pregnant. Despite its success, the series was cut short to accommodate the actress’s pregnancy.

Ellen Pompeo – Grey’s Anatomy

Thank god for baggy scrubs. And well-timed storylines. Ellen’s character Meredith (conveniently) donated a liver and had to recover in a bundle of blankets in bed for a good chunk of Season Six.

Kristen Bell - House Of Lies

Kristen's pregnancy made filming for House Of Lies difficult.The actress even had to do a sex scene at seven months pregnant (oh my). Kristen said that her co-star Adam Brody (Seth, from the O.C.) even referred to their sex scenes as ‘threesomes’. Ermmm...

Ginnifer Goodwin - Once Upon A Time

Not only did Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) wed her Prince Charming co-star Josh Dallas, they even had a baby together. Consequently, Goodwin's pregnancy has been written into Once Upon A Time, delighting the show's thousands of fans. A real life fairytale!

OK, so probably not to this extreme, but have you had to disguise a pregnancy? Let us know how you handled it below.