IN THE HANDS OF FATE 'I ABSOLUTELY DID NOT WANT TO BE AN ACTOR'

EMILIA FOX TALKS ABOUT HOW HER FAMOUS PARENTS TRIED TO DISSUADE HER FROM GOING INTO SHOWBIZ, HER FAMILY HISTORY AND FEARS OVER AUDIENCES BECOMING IMMUNE TO DARK STORYLINES

Emilia Fox is one of Britain’s leading actresses thanks to her role in the hit BBC One crime drama series Silent Witness. But when we chat to the star, who plays forensic pathologist Dr Nikki Alexander, she admits she sometimes struggles with the subject matter of the show, which has been running for 26 years.

Talking about the brutal crimes played out in each episode, the mum-of-one, who is currently filming the 26th series, says she worries that the violence shown on screen “influences” real life.

Emilia says, “The producers and executive producers decide what to show in relation to what the audience want. But I do think, and I say this as a worried parent, that it influences what is happening in real life and what we become immune to.”

The 48-year-old, who shares daughter Rose, 12, with her former partner and actor Jeremy Gilley, says she has concerns about such content on other mediums, too. “I do think about video games and what that stimulates in children’s heads or grown-ups’ heads. It concerns me, definitely. What do you choose to put on television?”

She adds, “I don’t like being scared. I have never liked Halloween. I certainly don’t like the idea of watching a horror film at all. I don’t know what the thrill of that is.”

Given that Emilia is from a thespian dynasty that includes her dad Edward, 85, her younger brother Freddie, 33, and her cousin Laurence, 44, a frequent question is whether the profession has always been in her blood.