For years, Mathew Horne made Britain laugh.
As the boy-next-door Gavin Shipman, he was part of one of the most loved TV couples of a generation. But away from the scripts and sitcom smiles, the actor’s life has been shaped by quiet grief, unexpected heartbreak — and now, a moment of overwhelming joy that feels almost too precious to put into words.
This week, the 47-year-old star revealed that his wife, Celina Bassili, is pregnant with their second child.
A baby girl.
And the name they have chosen carries far more than a pretty sound.
It carries a mother’s memory.
“Her Middle Name Will Be Joy”
Appearing on the Rosebud podcast with Gyles Brandreth, Mathew shared the news with a mix of disbelief and gratitude.
“Joy was my mother’s middle name,” he said softly.
“And it will be the middle name of my daughter, who is due in March.”
It wasn’t just a name.
It was a thread through generations — from the woman he lost, to the child he is about to hold.
Gyles immediately noticed the symbolism, even joking that the baby would be a Pisces.
“You win every prize in life,” he told Mathew. “You’re so lucky.”
Mathew simply replied, “I know that.”
And then, almost without thinking, he shared what “joy” really looks like to him these days.
“A moment of joy is last night falling asleep with my son,” he said.
“That’s today’s joy.”
From Heartbreak To Home
Mathew and Celina welcomed their first child — a little boy whose name they have kept private — shortly after their wedding in September 2021.
But their love story didn’t begin in happiness.
It began in loss.
On the podcast, Mathew revealed that he knew Celina was “the one” shortly after his mother passed away.
“I met her about a year before my mum died,” he said.
“Then I lost my mum, and Celina stood by my side through what was a really wretched time.”
That period, he explained, changed everything.
“Our relationship grew and grew, and my love for her grew and grew. I just knew from that experience that I wanted to be with her forever.”
It wasn’t romance that made him certain.
It was survival.
A Pain That Never Leaves
Mathew also opened up about another devastating loss — the death of a former girlfriend who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2003 and passed away just months later in January 2004.
“She was a very, very dear friend,” he said.
“We weren’t strictly together at the time… but it was a very difficult time.”
It was the kind of grief that stays with you long after life moves on.
A Baby Named After Love
So when Mathew Horne says his daughter will carry the name Joy, it isn’t about sentimentality.
It is about remembrance.
It is about gratitude.
It is about everything he has lost — and everything he has finally found.
After years of grief, after watching people he loved slip away, he is now preparing to welcome a little girl whose name means exactly what she represents.
Not just happiness.
Hope.
