Sarah Jayne Dunn and Jennifer Metcalfe felt "nervous" about going back to ‘Hollyoaks’ after giving birth.
The 37-year-old star wasn’t sure how she was going to cope when she prepared to return to the Channel 4 soap as Mandy Morgan, but since being back on the show she has been able to help new mums Jennifer (Mercedes McQueen) and Rachel Adedeji (Lisa Loveday) deal with the idea of heading back to work.
She exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "Me and Rachel had messages when she had Lillian, she’s a bit younger than my little boy Stanley.
"And same with Jen, she had hesitations about coming back to work and we chatted. It’s nice having that support and kind of going, ‘Actually, I felt nervous, and I didn’t know how I was going to cope.’
"I think every new mum feels like that. It’s nice to pass on that reassurance and knowledge. This is what we all go through.
"We all have that fear of going, ‘Am I being selfish? Should I feel guilty?’ It’s totally natural.
"It’s good to have other people to talk to and social media users to go, ‘That’s the reality of it, don’t feel ashamed of feeling like that.’ "
As well as enjoying the "support unit" that the ‘Hollyoaks’ mums provide, the actress and her co-stars are pleased they can be "positive role models" to other mothers thinking about going back to work after giving birth.
Speaking at the Inside Soap Awards at London’s 100 Wardour Street on Monday night (22.10.18), she added: "We actually have a nursery on site. There’s a few of us mums that, when time permits, we do things together.
"It’s just really nice having that support unit.
"It’s nice to know you’ve got people you can chat to, whether you’ve not slept that night or whether your baby is poorly.
"But also it’s nice to be positive role models and go, ‘You know what, you can have a child, come back to work, you can work and still be a brilliant parent, and you can do the thing you want to do, and balance it out.’
"It’s not easy, we’re not saying it’s easy, but we’re saying it’s doable and everyone can do it, and it’s fab."
Sarah Jayne Dunn’s post-birth Hollyoaks ‘nerves’
