Strictly couple Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara delighted their fans after sharing a new photo with their baby niece Zala to mark her first birthday. The doting aunt and uncle were all smiles as they took a selfie with the little girl, which looked to have been taken during the summer when they went to Slovenia to spend time with Aljaz's side of the family. Janette posted the photo on Instagram to mark Zala's first birthday, and wrote in the caption: "Happy 1st birthday to our little Zala! Wish I could be there to cuddle you and celebrate! Your auntie and uncle love you so so much! Counting down the days until the next time we see you! Mwwwa!"
Strictly couple Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara with their baby niece Zala
Zala was born on the same day as her mum Lara, and Aljaz shared a tribute to them both on his own Instagram account wishing his sister and niece many happy returns. He wrote: "My special birthday girls! Sending you lots of love! Your favourite big brother and favourite uncle." Aljaz gave Zala a special mention on the eve of her first birthday during his appearance on It Takes Two on Monday. At the end of his interview, where he was talking about his dance with Viscountess Emma Weymouth during the show's Movie Week on Saturday, he gushed: "My little niece. It's her birthday tomorrow!"
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Zala is Aljaz's sister's first baby
Aljaz has previously opened up about his bond with Zala, telling HELLO!: "She's beautiful, a little angel. I'm obsessed with kids, but little babies are so fragile and I'm not sure how to hold them! If someone had told me five years that my little sister was going to have a baby before me, I wouldn't have believed them. But I feel everything comes at the right time when it’s supposed to come."
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Both Aljaz and Janette are brilliant with children, and recently went to visit Gorka Marquez and Gemma Atkinson to meet their newborn daughter Mia. The Strictly couple – who married in July 2017 – have spoken on a number of occasions about their plans to start a family. "It's never going to be the perfect time to have a baby but we do talk about it a lot and we are very much looking forward to becoming a mum and dad," Janette previously told HELLO!. "It's definitely going to happen – when, we don't know. We'll see. We're kind of taking it slowly. A dancer's career can be quite short, especially when you reach a certain level, and work is going so good for us at the moment so that’s the priority. We adore working on Strictly. It's the best job in the world and the opportunities we're given when we're not on the show are incredible. As with everything in life, you have it one minute and it's gone the next so we have to grab it while we’ve got it."
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