Cold Feet star Helen Baxendale has announced that she's going to quit acting to spend more time with her family. The actress, who is also well-known for her role as Ross' girlfriend in Friends, says it is impossible to bring up her children properly if she is always working away from home.
The 33-year-old recently finished filming on the last series of Cold Feet and has decided it is time to put her family first. Helen wants to have more time for her husband, producer David Elliot, and their two children, Nell, four, and Eric, 18 months.
"You aren't in any one place and I don't think it's fair on anyone," said Helen in an interview. "It's not like I'm back for bath-time and bedtime for the children. You're back when they are asleep and you go out before they wake up. Really, that time when they are young goes all too quickly."
Helen rose to fame playing Ross' English girlfriend Emily in Friends but she found out she was pregnant shortly after winning the role. While her TV character decided to marry Ross, the real Helen was missing her husband in England and contemplating the birth of their first child. She eventually decided to return to London, where she was hired to play Rachel in Cold Feet. The series has a similar plotline to the US show, following the romantic fortunes of a group of thirty-something friends. Since its launch it has become one of Britain's most popular series.
She says she'll miss her co-stars, especially leading-man James Nesbitt, but the time has come for a change. "In the end you have to make a decision about what you want most," she said. "It's not fair on my children, it's not fair on their dad and it's not fair on my parents, who've been brilliant."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
