Short version: Janette Manrara has one child, a daughter called Lyra Rose, with her husband and fellow dancer Aljaž Škorjanec. In the coverage we reviewed, neither of them has announced a second pregnancy. They have said they would love Lyra to have a brother or sister one day, but that is a hope. It is not an announcement.
This page brings together what the couple have said publicly, in order, with sources. We have left out anything they have chosen to keep private, particularly about their daughter.
How many children does Janette Manrara have?
Janette Manrara has one child. Here are the key facts, based on what the family and established news outlets have reported:
| Detail | What’s publicly confirmed |
|---|---|
| Number of children | One |
| Child’s name | Lyra Rose Škorjanec (often written Skorjanec in UK copy) |
| Born | Summer 2023. The birth was announced in early July 2023 |
| Parents | Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec, married since 2017 |
| Second pregnancy | Not publicly confirmed |
Last reviewed: October 2026. Celebrity family news can change overnight. We will update this page if the couple share a new announcement.
Meet the children: Lyra Rose Škorjanec
The pregnancy announcement
The couple announced the pregnancy in February 2023. The news was reported by the PA news agency and carried widely in UK regional and national outlets. By then they had already been open for years about wanting a family, so it came as good news to viewers who had followed them since their early Strictly Come Dancing years.
They also told interviewers that they had picked a name long before the baby arrived. They kept that name to themselves until after the birth.
The birth and the name
Lyra Rose was born in summer 2023. The couple announced the news in early July with a photo from the hospital. That announcement is where the name comes from. It is also close to the only detail about her early life that the couple have offered without being asked.
That is deliberate. We go into it further down.
The road to parenthood
Lots of celebrity pregnancy coverage skips over the fact that this baby did not arrive easily. Janette has spoken publicly about the couple’s fertility journey. She has explained that they had been preparing for IVF when they discovered she was pregnant. She talked about it partly so that other couples going through fertility treatment would feel less alone.
We only report what she has said herself. We have not added any medical detail beyond that, and we don’t speculate about anyone’s fertility. If this is something you are going through, the NHS fertility pages and the charity Fertility Network UK are better places to start than any celebrity interview.
Partner and wider family
Aljaž Škorjanec
Aljaž Škorjanec is a Slovenian-born professional ballroom and Latin dancer. UK audiences know him best from his years as a Strictly Come Dancing professional, including winning the Glitterball trophy with Abbey Clancy in 2013. He and Janette met on the professional dance circuit before they both joined the show. They married in 2017.
How their careers shaped family life
Their careers make the timing of their family plans easier to understand:
- Janette stepped back from dancing as a Strictly professional in 2021 to co-present the companion show It Takes Two. Presenting has a far more predictable schedule than a professional’s weekly rehearsals, live shows and arena tour.
- Aljaž left the Strictly professional line-up after the 2022 series. He has since done theatre, touring and live dance projects, often with Janette.
Both have said in interviews that this change of pace was linked to wanting more time together and space to start a family. If you have ever done a Strictly tour, you’ll know that months of hotels and two shows a day don’t leave much room for anything else.
Wider family
Janette was born in Miami to Cuban parents and often credits that upbringing for her love of dance. Aljaž’s family are in Slovenia. Both families have come up in interviews and social media posts, but neither side has a public profile of its own. We think it’s right to leave it there.
Public family moments: a timeline
The couple’s family news has come out bit by bit over several years. In order, as reported:
- Before 2023: In several interviews they say they want children. Express & Star and others report on their plans and their openness about fertility treatment.
- February 2023: They announce the pregnancy, reported by PA.
- Spring 2023: They confirm they have already chosen a name but won’t reveal it yet.
- Early July 2023: They announce the birth of Lyra Rose with a hospital photo.
- After the birth: Hello! Magazine covers family moments, including a reunion with Lyra after time apart for work.
- Later interviews: Asked about more children, they say they would love Lyra to have a sibling. Aljaž adds that, after what they went through to have her, nothing is guaranteed.
That last point matters. Their comments about a sibling get recycled as “baby number 2” headlines. What they actually said was much more careful.
Is Janette Manrara pregnant with a second child?
This is the question most people searching “Janette Manrara baby number 2” or “Janette and Aljaž baby” want answered. As of our last review, no second pregnancy has been publicly announced.
Here is what is confirmed and what isn’t:
- Confirmed: They have said they would like Lyra to have a brother or sister.
- Confirmed: They have been honest that, because of their fertility history, they can’t count on it.
- Not confirmed: Any current pregnancy, due date or fertility treatment.
Some of the confusion comes from other Strictly families. Several current and former professionals have had second babies in recent years. Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Márquez are one example. Their news sometimes gets mixed up with Janette and Aljaž’s in search results and on social media. If you see a “second baby” headline, check whose family it is about. Then check whether it quotes an announcement or just a hope.
If they do announce a second pregnancy, it will be easy to spot. Their earlier announcements came from the couple themselves and were picked up by PA within hours. A rumour that hasn’t come from them isn’t news.
What the family keeps private
Both Janette and Aljaž work in front of cameras. Even so, they have been careful about how much of Lyra the public sees. In general they have:
- shared moments that are about them as parents, rather than their daughter’s daily routine
- not discussed childcare, nursery or school arrangements in detail
- kept close-up, identifying images of her to a minimum
Our approach follows theirs. We don’t publish guesses about her appearance, where she goes to school or where the family lives. We don’t speculate about future pregnancies, health or fertility. A child doesn’t choose to be in the public eye, and the parents have clearly drawn their line. Our job is to respect that line, not to look for ways around it.
This is the same approach we take in our other family profiles. Examples include Lily Allen’s children and family life, Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s children and family life and our piece on Robson Green’s partner and family.
Sources and how we checked
We wrote this profile from public reporting. We did not rewrite any single article. The main sources were:
- PA news agency coverage of the February 2023 pregnancy announcement, as carried by Express & Star
- Coverage of the July 2023 birth announcement, including BreakingNews.ie
- Hello! Magazine interviews and family-moment stories, including the couple’s comments about a second baby
- Earlier Express & Star interviews about their plans to have children
Where outlets disagreed on details such as spelling, we used the version the couple use themselves. If you think something here is out of date, let us know and we will check it again.
FAQs
Is Janette Manrara pregnant with a second child?
No second pregnancy has been publicly announced as of our last review in October 2026. Janette and Aljaž have said they would love their daughter Lyra to have a sibling. They have also said that, after their fertility journey, nothing is guaranteed. Treat any ‘baby number 2’ headline as unconfirmed unless it quotes an announcement from the couple.
How many children do Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec have?
They have one child, a daughter named Lyra Rose. She was born in summer 2023.
What is Janette Manrara’s daughter called?
Her daughter is called Lyra Rose. The couple chose the name before she was born and revealed it when they announced the birth in early July 2023.
Who is the father of Janette Manrara’s daughter?
Lyra’s father is Janette’s husband, Aljaž Škorjanec. He is a Slovenian-born professional dancer and former Strictly Come Dancing pro. The couple married in 2017.
Did Janette Manrara have IVF?
Janette has said publicly that she and Aljaž had been preparing for IVF when they found out she was pregnant. She has talked about their fertility journey to support other couples in a similar position.
When did Janette Manrara have her baby?
Janette Manrara gave birth to Lyra Rose in summer 2023. The couple announced the birth in early July 2023, about five months after announcing the pregnancy in February 2023.
