Gemma Whelan is back on the ITV drama The Tower as DS Sarah Collins for series two, although this time, the Game Of Thrones star brought her family along for filming – and it's kept her preoccupied.
The 42-year-old has admitted that she hasn't read the Kate London books on which the show is based on as she's been too busy with her young children.
"I haven't read the books, I started reading them and I got very confused as to who what was script, and what was book," she said.
"And I decided I've got two children, a very young baby particularly, and I thought my priority has to be to learn my lines!"
She added: "I think [writer Patrick Harbinson] has written such a clear version of our version, that I like to sort of play that and try not to muddy – it's my excuse for not reading the books and having a tiny baby!"
Gemma, who is best known for playing Yara Greyjoy in Game of Thrones and for her roles in Upstart Crow, DI Ray and Killing Eve, gave birth to her second child in 2021 with husband Gerry Howell.
The actor said that she brought baby Freddie on set with her, having been pregnant with him during the filming of The Tower's first series.
"What feels different, I suppose, is that I've got my baby with me on set because I'm breastfeeding. So he's here with his nanny, and you know, the travelling band is big now because my husband and my daughter are also here," she said.
"But we're so we've made it to summer holiday experience. We're making it work. But yeah, it's different in that I'm sort of trying to make sure I fed him and that he's alright."
As for breastfeeding on the job, Gemma revealed that she's "used to" it, having breast-fed her daughter Frances in previous acting gigs.
"I've worked on it with my daughter when she was a baby. It's really quite nice to be at work doing my job knowing that everyone's safe and the schedule is such that I don't feel too departed from them for too long, " she said. "It's been a really, really positive experience."
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