As his CBeebies alterego Mr Tumble he entertains millions of children every day but Justin Fletcher has long hoped for kids of his own.
But now, at the age of 55, the star has got his own version of the happily ever after that punctuates the end of each episode of his TV juggernuat.
Justin has found love with his co-star Samantha Dorrance, 34, and the couple have been quietly living together at his £2.5m country mansion in Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire.
Rewind a decade and it was a very different story for Justin, a self-confessed workaholic, who admitted he had spent 20 years putting his career before relationships.
The man behind the longest running CBeebies show of all time has poured all of his focus into Mr Tumble, who first burst onto screens in 2004.
Since then Justin has created a brand that is believed to have amassed him a net worth of more than £1.5 million.
As his CBeebies alterego Mr Tumble he entertains millions of children every day but Justin Fletcher has long hoped for kids of his own and now he has finally got his happily ever after
Justin has found love with his co-star Samantha Dorrance, 34, and the couple have been quietly living together at his £2.5m country mansion in Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire
Sales of his Something Special DVDs alone are understood to have topped 100,000, bringing in an estimated £1 million for the star while an accompanying magazine is said to bring in another £180,000 a month.
His ploughed much of that fortune into his idyllic six bedroom house and farm, which he now shares with Samantha.
Famously single for years, any mention of a romantic or indeed any kind of personal life in interviews has seen Justin stick to jokes about receiving marriage proposals from smitten mums.
But he has always pined for love. In a rare insight into his life offscreen Justin told The Mirror in 2012 that he dreamed of having his own family one day.
‘I’m not married, live alone and have been single for a while now because I’ve been a workaholic filming Something Special, Justin’s House and Gigglebiz,’ he explained.
‘But I do want to free up some time for myself and my family.
‘I would love to have children so need to find someone who likes kids. A couple of kids would be lovely.’
The star does seem to be making a conscious decision to slow down.
Last year he stepped back as his Bafta-award winning show Something Special’s main presenter with new presenters Maddie Moate, Ben Cajee and George Webster taking up the baton.
He is of course still working overtime though playing Mr Tumble, Grandad Tumble, Lord Tumble, Fisherman Tumble, Baker Tumble and Aunt Polly across the episodes.
Rewind a decade and it was a very different story for Justin, a self-confessed workaholic, who admitted he had spent 20 years putting his career before relationships
Samantha meanwhile is one co-star who has become more than just a valued colleague.
The actress and singer/song-writer has been a part of Justin’s life since she landed the role of silly best friend Tootsie in The Tale of Mr Tumble in 2015 when she was just 23.
11 years later the pair are said to be an item and madly in love and on tour together in his Justin Live: Justin Time to Rock! Tour.
A source told the Daily Mail last week: ‘Justin and Samantha are madly in love and couldn’t be happier.’
‘Although there is an age gap, it isn’t an issue between them. For Justin, Samantha is “the one”.’
‘The farm is their sanctuary and where they both feel happiest. Friends know about the relationship, as well as their castmates on the tour.’
The source explained how their romance ‘blossomed’ last year, with Samantha moving into his six-bedroom house shortly after.
Samantha has been a part of Justin’s life since she landed the role of silly best friend Tootsie in The Tale of Mr Tumble in 2015 when she was just 23
‘The farm is their sanctuary and where they both feel happiest,’ friends of the couple revealed last week; Samantha pictured on the farm
On social media, Samantha refrains from tagging Justin but frequently shares photos from his house and refers to him as ‘her partner’.
In March, Samantha shared some new additions to their life together on the farm, gushing: ‘Last year, me and my partner hatched our own chickens.
‘I was making breakfast one morning and noticed all the eggs we had been buying from our local honesty box were fertilised. My partner just so happened to have an old incubator, so we dug it out.’
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