Has Katie's slinky dress given away a secret?

It's the Hollywood rumour that refuses to go away.

And Katie Holmes did nothing to dispel the whispers of a second pregnancy when she appeared in this figure-hugging black dress.

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The 28-year-old actress gave photographers an irresistible chance for a side-on shot in front of a white background at the New York premiere of Hairspray.

Her bump certainly suggests that she and her husband Tom Cruise could be expecting their second child.

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Their first, daughter Suri, was born last year. Miss Holmes, who has not starred in a movie since becoming engaged to Cruise in June 2005, was at Monday's premiere to support the movie's star, friend and fellow Church of Scientology senior member John Travolta.

Last month, pregnancy rumours were rife when the Cruises were pictured visiting their new best friends David and Victoria Beckham in Madrid. Miss Holmes wore a smock dress which revealed what appeared to be the beginnings of a bump.

She has certainly made no secret of her love of motherhood.

Asked in May if she and her husband would like to have more children, she replied: "Yes, definitely."

Parenthood certainly appears to be agreeing with the couple.

The New York Post yesterday reported that fatherhood had made Cruise such 'a big kid' that he frequently used the eBay Internet auction site to track down his own favourite childhood toys for his daughter.

Miss Holmes apparently told friends that Suri has made him more playful and determined to 'reclaim his inner child'.

Unfortunately, things are not progressing so smoothly in his professional life.

Earlier this month, Berlin police refused the actor permission to use a police station in the city's Kreuzberg district to shoot his film Valkyrie, in which he plays Claus von Stauffenberg, the member of the German nobility who tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944.

It was the second time that Cruise was denied permission to use a Berlin location to shoot his film. The German defence ministry said the actor's membership of the Church of Scientology was the reason behind the ban.

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