EastEnders star Jessie Wallace confirms she has got engaged to partner Justin Gallwey

Jessie Wallace has confirmed that she is engaged to carpenter Justin Gallwey.

The EastEnders actress, who plays Kat Slater in the long-running BBC soap, took to Instagram *on Monday to share the exciting news following reports in the media that they were set to wed.

“My fiancé and moi” the 51-year-old wrote alongside an image of the two cosied up to each other, with Wallace - whose real name is Karen Jane Wallace - gently placing a hand on his chest.

The engaged couple have been together for at least a year.

Whispers began to swirl about them planning to head down the aisle when The Sun published pictures of Wallace sporting a gold band on her ring finger as she bought a bottle of wine at a petrol station near her London home recently.

It was previously reported that Mr Gallwey, 50, had been helping Wallace to address issues with alcohol after she was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

He told The Sun on Sunday: “I just want to protect her. Everything is happy and things are good.”

Wallace has not married before.

She was set to marry in a £300,000 star-studded ceremony in 2011 to then-fiancé Vincent Morse before it was called off at the last minute.

Wallace has an 18-year-old daughter called Tallulah with ex Dave Morgan.

Last year she became a grandmother after Tallulah gave birth to a baby boy.

Sharing a black and white image of the new arrival in a since-deleted post, Wallace wrote: “Welcome to the world, my grandson SJ. You are loved, cherished and adored.”