Rowan Atkinson "Mr Bean" to take a year off work to look after his young daughter

Rowan Atkinson, popularly known as Mr Bean, is taking a year off work to become a stay-at-home dad.

The 64-year-old actor who welcomed a daughter with his partner Louise Ford, 35, in December 2017, shocked friends when he told them that he is ‘going to take care of Baby Bean while Louise has the chance to concentrate on acting’.

Reacting to Mr Bean's decision, a source close together actor said:

Rowan has a habit of surprising people – and he has done it again with this announcement.

He has said he will take a back seat from work to be with Isla, and this will obviously allow Louise to focus on her career which is going well.

Rowan already has a son Ben, 23, and a daughter, 21, from former wife Sunetra Sastry. He split from Sunetra in 2014, who cited ‘irreconcilable differences’ in the divorce papers the following year.

Rowan and Louise began dating in 2014 after meeting on West End production Quartermaine’s Terms in 2012.