Benedict Cumberbatch and his fiancée Sophie Hunter have confirmed they are expecting their first child.

Just two months after announcing their engagement, the 38-year-old actor and his 36-year-old theatre director partner are looking forward to becoming parents for the first time.

A spokesperson for Benedict confirmed to MailOnline: 'I am delighted to confirm that Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter are expecting their first child. They are both over the moon.'

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Baby news: Benedict Cumberbatch’s fiancée Sophie Hunter, seen here on Saturday at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, is pregnant with their first child

The New York Post's Page Six were the first to report that the Imitation Game star was 'delighted and excited about becoming a dad'.

A source told the site: 'Sophie is a few months along, and both she and Benedict are very excited about it. They are also quietly planning to marry in early spring.'

Sources told the column that the couple - who got engaged in early November - are now planning wed in the next few months, sooner than previously expected.

Keeping covered up: The actress wore a long and flowing silk Just Cavalli dress and kept her clutch in front of her stomach as the pair were photographed

Sophie was last seen publicly on Saturday with her husband-to-be at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Walking hand-in-hand with Benedict, the actress wore a long and flowing silk Just Cavalli dress and kept her clutch in front of her stomach as they posed for photographs.

At the film festival the English actor was asked about his marriage plans by the press but said he was too busy.

Change of plan: Sources told the column that the couple are now planning wed in the next few months, sooner than previously expected - they announced their engagement in November

He told Popsugar when asked about heading down the aisle: 'One thing at a time. I'm playing Sherlock now - just about to start - so my main focus is going to be on that.'

Marriage is clearly very important to the heart throb and last year he told Elle Japan:

'It's a wonderful thing to get married young and become a father. I used to think that I'd get married by my mid-thirties and have children.

Traditional courtship: The actor announced rather modesty in the forthcoming marriages section of the Times of London that he was engaged

'But now I think I can wait. I'm no longer in a hurry to get married.'

He once said that talking about his life away from work ‘always came back to haunt me in strange ways. I have been judged for my relationships or for not being a father in the weirdest ways.’

He told Event magazine in 2013: 'I was happy as an only child, but I’ve always wanted to be part of a bigger family. I would love to have children.

‘Everyone wants to know when I’m going to settle down and who is going to be Mrs Cumberbatch. I can’t wait to do an interview like this and just talk about my child.

Working hard: On Tuesday, Benedict was pictured arriving at the Colston Hall, Bristol to film the latest instalment of the massively popular Sherlock TV programme

'My stepsister – my mother’s daughter from her first marriage – had a kid when I was about 11. I thought, “Wow, this is incredible, they come in much smaller sizes!”... I was always the one at parties who looked after the younger children. I really enjoyed it.'

In 2010, he told the Telegraph: 'I am very broody. I have been broody for the last five years because I have two godchildren.

'I know you pick up an amazing amount of stamina the minute you become a dad, but I would like to be a young dad. I would love to have the ability to juggle a career and have a young child.'

Happy times: While the actor is revered for his role in the acclaimed show, fatherhood is likely to be his most exciting project yet

The star has always been rather quiet when it comes to his love life but chose to announce his betrothal to Sophie with a £324 advertisement in The Times newspaper.

The traditional heart throb flew to Edinburgh to ask her mother's permission for her daughter's hand in marriage before getting down on one knee.

The piece read: 'Mr BT. Cumberbatch and Miss S.I. Hunter: The engagement is announced between Benedict, son of Wanda and Timothy Cumberbatch of London, and Sophie, daughter of Katharine Hunter of Edinburgh and Charles Hunter of London.'

Benedict and Oxford-educated Sophie, who first met in 2009, had gone to great lengths to avoid being seen together in public since they started dating last year ahead of their engagement announcement.

They can't get enough of him: The popular actor was shielded by an umbrella as she made his way back to his car surrounded by a throng of people

They were first seen publicly together in June 2014 at the French Open but they first met when starring opposite each other in Burlesque Fairytales in 2009.

But since becoming engaged, they have walked down the red carpet together at events such as The London Evening Standard awards and The Imitation Game premiere.

Sophie was also Benedict's date at the wedding of the actor’s old school pal, James Rhodes, but it is believed she has wanted to remain anonymous since the beginning of their relationship.

Supporting role: Sophie took pride of place on Benedict's arm at the New York premiere of his latest movie, The Imitation Game on November 17

A ratings hit: The star plays Alan Turing in the wartime biopic alongside Keira Knightley (left) - who is also pregnant with her first child

Cumberbatch previously spent 10 years with The Thick Of It star Olivia Poulet, who met while studying at Manchester University, before splitting in 2010.

Since then, the Sherlock star has been linked with several high-profile women, including Star Trek co-star Alice Eve and Lord Of The Rings actress Liv Tyler.

More recently, Cumberbatch has dated furniture designer Anna Jones in 2012, before apparently rekindling an old friendship with Russian model and actress Katia Elizarova in 2013.