diff --git a/clutter/clutter/clutter-actor.c b/clutter/clutter/clutter-actor.c
index 4979c9dcd..8dd22476a 100644
--- a/clutter/clutter/clutter-actor.c
+++ b/clutter/clutter/clutter-actor.c
@@ -631,7 +631,7 @@
 #include "clutter-color-static.h"
 #include "clutter-color.h"
 #include "clutter-constraint-private.h"
-#include "clutter-container.h"
+#include "clutter-container-private.h"
 #include "clutter-content-private.h"
 #include "clutter-debug.h"
 #include "clutter-easing.h"
@@ -4582,7 +4582,7 @@ clutter_actor_remove_child_internal (ClutterActor                 *self,
 
   /* we need to emit the signal before dropping the reference */
   if (emit_actor_removed)
-    g_signal_emit_by_name (self, "actor-removed", child);
+    _clutter_container_emit_actor_removed (CLUTTER_CONTAINER (self), child);
 
   if (notify_first_last)
     {
@@ -13226,7 +13226,7 @@ clutter_actor_add_child_internal (ClutterActor              *self,
     }
 
   if (emit_actor_added)
-    g_signal_emit_by_name (self, "actor-added", child);
+    _clutter_container_emit_actor_added (CLUTTER_CONTAINER (self), child);
 
   if (notify_first_last)
     {
diff --git a/clutter/clutter/clutter-container-private.h b/clutter/clutter/clutter-container-private.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d619a6531
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clutter/clutter/clutter-container-private.h
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/*
+ * Clutter.
+ *
+ * An OpenGL based 'interactive canvas' library.
+ *
+ * Copyright 2020 Red Hat, Inc.
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+#ifndef __CLUTTER_CONTAINER_PRIVATE_H__
+#define __CLUTTER_CONTAINER_PRIVATE_H__
+
+#include <clutter/clutter-container.h>
+
+G_BEGIN_DECLS
+
+void _clutter_container_emit_actor_added   (ClutterContainer *container,
+                                            ClutterActor     *actor);
+void _clutter_container_emit_actor_removed (ClutterContainer *container,
+                                            ClutterActor     *actor);
+
+G_END_DECLS
+
+#endif /* __CLUTTER_CONTAINER_PRIVATE_H__ */
diff --git a/clutter/clutter/clutter-container.c b/clutter/clutter/clutter-container.c
index 587d891a7..23169332f 100644
--- a/clutter/clutter/clutter-container.c
+++ b/clutter/clutter/clutter-container.c
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 
 #include "clutter-actor-private.h"
 #include "clutter-child-meta.h"
+#include "clutter-container-private.h"
 #include "clutter-debug.h"
 #include "clutter-main.h"
 #include "clutter-marshal.h"
@@ -1250,3 +1251,23 @@ clutter_container_child_notify (ClutterContainer *container,
                                                          child,
                                                          pspec);
 }
+
+void
+_clutter_container_emit_actor_added (ClutterContainer *container,
+                                     ClutterActor     *actor)
+{
+  g_return_if_fail (CLUTTER_IS_CONTAINER (container));
+  g_return_if_fail (CLUTTER_IS_ACTOR (actor));
+
+  g_signal_emit (container, container_signals[ACTOR_ADDED], 0, actor);
+}
+
+void
+_clutter_container_emit_actor_removed (ClutterContainer *container,
+                                       ClutterActor     *actor)
+{
+  g_return_if_fail (CLUTTER_IS_CONTAINER (container));
+  g_return_if_fail (CLUTTER_IS_ACTOR (actor));
+
+  g_signal_emit (container, container_signals[ACTOR_REMOVED], 0, actor);
+}