It is understood that Kelly, who is D'Arcy's producer and co-presenter on his popular Today FM morning show, is four months pregnant. "We're very happy, " said D'Arcy this weekend. Kelly, 34, from south Dublin, met D'Arcy when she began working on the Ray D'Arcy Show nearly six years ago.

Kildareman D'Arcy, 41, told the Sunday Tribune that he wanted the couple's privacy to be respected. "If we were the type of couple that courted the media and went for spreads in VIP magazine and that kind of thing, then we would be releasing a statement, but we're not, " he said. "We want to remain as private as possible, but of course, that's not always possible because of what we do."

D'Arcy, from a family of nine children, began working for RTE aged 22. At 24, he became the presenter of the children's programme The Den. He has also presented You're A Star, The Rose of Tralee, and most recently, RTE's live quiz Test The Nation. In an interview with the Sunday Tribune last autumn, he spoke of his desire for offspring.

"At some stage, I hope to have children, " he said. "When I was 18, I was convinced I'd be married by the age of 23 with lots of kids. I think work took over."

Kelly began working in RTE in 1994 before moving to East Coast Radio and then on to Today FM where she worked in music programming before joining Ray D'Arcy's production team. The couple have been together for more than a year.

D'Arcy broke up with his last girlfriend, TV and radio presenter Geri Maye . . . to whom he was engaged to be married . . . over three years ago.

Speaking previously to the Sunday Tribune about his current girlfriend, he said, "Jenny's brilliant. . . she's a bigger personality than me; we're quite different.

She's from Foxrock; she had a pony growing up. I'm from Kildare; I had a paper round."