Christmas has come early for actor CHANNING TATUM - his wife JENNA DEWAN-TATUM is pregnant.

The Magic Mike star and his actress wife announced the news to People.com on Monday (17Dec12), less than two hours after the mom-to-be dodged questions about their desire to start a family on U.S. news show Access Hollywood.

During the Monday morning (17Dec12) appearance, she said, "We want a family, I mean we definitely want a family. Whenever it's meant to be, whenever divine intervention comes in and creates that to happen, we'll be happy."

The baby news is unlikely to come as much of a surprise to fans - Tatum, who was recently named the publication's Sexiest Man Alive, dropped hints the pair was keen to start a family in an interview last month (Nov12), saying, "I'm ready; I think she's ready. The first number that pops into my head is three (children), but I just want one to be healthy and then we'll see where we go after that."

Tatum met his now-wife on the set of their hit dance movie Step Up in 2006 and they tied the knot in California three years later (09).