Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine says working on the show has made her broody.
The actress, who plays prim and proper midwife Jenny Lee, says when there is a lot of waiting around in the green room she alleviates the boredom by playing with the babies and children in the show.
The 31-year-old said: “ You’re waiting around a lot for lighting, so if there’s a baby you can coo over it’s just lovely.”
In an interview with ES Magazine, she confessed that playing with the children made her broody “on and off”.
But for the time being, Raine, who has just finished 11 weeks’ filming series three of Midwife, says she is “too busy” to have children or get married.
The actress lives in south London with actor Tom Goodman-Hill, 45. The couple met when they starred in Rupert Goold’s production of Earthquakes in London at the National Theatre.
They hit the headlines this year after Goodman-Hill, who stars in ITV’s Mr Selfridge, left his wife and two children for Raine.
In the interview, published tomorrow, she will only say of their relationship is that they “talk about work a lot”.
Raine is currently rehearsing her new role in Arnold Wesker’s Roots, due to open at the Donmar in October. She said: “To sit in a room with a load of really well-cast actors and talk about where you come from and the world of the play … I could have cried with relief and happiness.
“The schedule in TV is really tight and there’s no time for any of that. My real passion for acting comes from theatre.
“There’s an element of fear that’s really good for you. You have to push yourself constantly, and if you’re resting on your laurels, and being lazy, you get a bit boring.”
In Roots, Raine plays the central role of Beatie Bryant, a Norfolk girl who returns to see her family after falling in love with a London boy. Comparing the two characters, she said: “Beatie is very open, very sensual, whereas Jenny is so closed up. And one of the big things is Beatie’s Norfolk accent. I’m from Hereford so I can have quite a rural accent anyway and I feel it coming out more and more. I’m going to sound like a right bumpkin in a month’s time.”
The play runs from October 3 to November 30.
