‘Parenting is hard’: Delicious actress Emilia Fox opens up about life as a mum

The actress is back on the Sky One show for a third series.

She’s a mum to seven-year-old Rose with her partner, actor Jeremy Gilley, but despite juggling motherhood with her thriving acting career, Emilia Fox has revealed parenting hasn’t become any easier as her daughter grows older.

‘The hardest thing about being a parent is that great responsibility and vulnerability that love brings," she tells us.

"You are so protective and want to make sure that everything is ok for your child, but at the same time you want them to experience things and learn independence."

Referring to parenting as a "very complex relationship", she adds, "I want to be with my daughter at all times and it’s hard when you’re trying to encourage independence and all you want to be is glued to them!"

Luckily for Emilia – who has just finished filming for the third series of foodie drama Delicious alongside Dawn French – her job has allowed her to enjoy her to make time for family life and her career.

She continues, "Your work life changes when you have a family because your priorities change. You’re no longer just working for yourself and can’t just jet off on a place.

"I’ve been lucky though, as Delicious is filmed in Cornwall over the summer, so Rose gets a summer holiday there!"

But the acting industry isn’t all fun and games, as Emilia- who has played Dr. Nikki Alexander on BBC crime drama Silent Witness for 14 years – opens up about the pressures placed on women.

"I think the camera kind of scrutinises your face, so I am aware of how people judge appearances," she says.

"But I’m a great advocate of that fact that appearance is just appearance. With Delicious being about women of all different ages, it kind of encourages confidence."

As well as helping to boost her confidence, the mum-of-one – who plays glamorous Sam on the Sky One soap – credits the show for her close friendship with comedian Dawn (chef Gina.)

While their characters might have an uneasy onscreen relationship, after inheriting the Penrose hotel and restaurant from their former and now deceased husband Leo Vincent (Iain Glen), they couldn’t be closer off set.

"We literally laugh from the moment we get there till we go home," Emilia smiles.

"The best summing up of our relationship is that we don’t get to see each other in between series so we have the most almighty catch up to do whenever we get to Cornwall."

She adds, "We literally start talking at about six in the morning and then we carry on till eight in the night. And then very often, she drives me home, and we do a bit more chatting."

In the first series, we watched Sam having to pick up the pieces after losing her husband and discovering that he had been having an affair with his ex wife Gina – who then inherited all of their ex’s money.

And by series two, the two ladies were forced to explore whether they could really work together as a team.

So what can we expect from the third series?

"It’s almost as if Gina and Sam are in a sort of marriage this series," Emilia says.

"The real conflict between them comes over their children – that’s the real trigger."

And it sounds like viewers could be in for a treat, with the new addition of Troy actor Vincent Regan, who’ll play Mason Elliott –a chef who wins over the affections of both Gina and Sam.

"Sam invites this new male character in not knowing what chaos he’s going to cause between them personally and professionally," Emelia reveals.

Sounds to us like history might be repeating itself…

Delicious series 3 airs on Sky One and NOW TV on Friday 28th December at 9pm.