The Tunnel Star Emilia Fox Shares How She Finds Her Balance

We interviewed actress Emilia Fox, who lives in London with her daughter Rose, who she shares with ex-partner Jeremy Gilley.

We love a good crime drama, which is why we can hardly contain our excitement about a second gripping series of The Tunnel, which kicks off on Sky Atlantic this April. Plus, there's a fresh crop of stars joining the Anglo-French detective duo, played by Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy, including Silent Witness star, Emilia Fox.

With a brand new case to solve, French investigator Elise Wassermann (Poésy) and British detective Karl Roebuck (Dillane) are reunited in The Tunnel: Sabotage when a couple are abducted from the Channel Tunnel and their traumatised young daughter is left behind. When an aeroplane crashes shortly after, killing every one of its British and French passengers, Karl and Elise find themselves with even bigger questions to answer.

Penned by Ben Richards (Spooks) and from the makersof Broadchurch and River, Emilia Fox stars as Vanessa Hamilton, whose sinister business dealings fall under investigation, while Clarke Peters (The Wire), Paul Schneider (Parks and Recreation) and William Ash (Shameless) have also joined the cast. We have a feeling the second installment of the International Emmy® Award-winning series is going to be a good one. We found out what Emilia Fox gets up to when she's not gracing our TV screens...

I love going to the holiday home by the sea in Dorset my parents [actors Joanna David and Edward Fox] had when I was a child. There's no phone reception, they still use water from a well and it's hit and miss whether there's electricity, but I always appreciate going back there. It's all about family and friends congregating - and actually communicating! I think that's quite rare these days.

We spend so much time thinking about how we can look after our bodies - our skin or our hair - but it's important to look after what goes on inside our heads. I've been seeing a therapist for several years and it's an hour where I can sort out anything that's troubling me or needs working through. Sometimes I feel uplifted after, sometimes I don't - but it certainly helps me feel stronger.

I worry all the time about whether I'm getting the balance right between working and being a mum. My parent's were all over the place with their careers when I was little, but they always tried to give me and my brother, Freddie, absolute stability. I try to do the same for Rose. I'm lucky that my best friend, Lara, who I've known since we were 13, has a little girl a year younger than my Rose too - she reminds me I'm not on my own.

If there's one thing I'd like to have more time for, it's a fitness regime! I've recently discovered trampolining, which has turned out to be endless fun. I go to a place near my house called Oxygen Freejumping with Rose and if I'm honest, I think you get as much joy from doing it as an adult as a child! My biggest achievement diet-wise is that I've finally managed to give up coffee by replacing it with Matcha green tea powder - I never thought it would happen! 

I've always admired my great-great-grandfather, Samson Fox's motto: "To the brave, nothing is difficult". He borrowed it from former British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli! The principle is that overcoming your fears, whether at work or in your personal life, brings rewards. I've been cautious for a long time in my life - but I feel ready now to take some more risks. 

The Tunnel: Sabotage begins on Tuesday 5th April at 9pm on Sky Atlantic.