Alison O'Donnell has starred in the BBC's hit crime drama Shetland for over a decade and while she feels "lucky" to have spent 12 years playing DI Tosh, it hasn't come without its challenges.
In a recent interview, the actress opened up about an "absolute low point" of filming the police series.
© ITV Studios/Robert Pereira Hind/BBC"The absolute low point was when I had unbelievable sickness in my pregnancy and possibly a stomach bug on top of it and was just lying on the stairs where we were filming and the crew were hefting things up and down past me and I couldn't move," the mum-of-two told The Scotsman. "Trying to do those long days with sickness and tiredness, I remember that being a nadir."
The actress went on to say that starring on the show for so long has allowed her to "have a family". "We didn't know from season to season if it would go again, but I was lucky that it did, so being able to have my kids and be supported through pregnancy and breastfeeding and having tiny children and coming out the other side, whenever that will be," explained Alison, whose co-star is fellow Scot Ashley Jensen.
Alison welcomed her first child, a daughter, in 2017. At the time, she told The Scotsman that while she hadn't always "had this ambition to be a mother", she surprised herself by "how much I love it".
© BBC/Silverprint Pictures/Jamie Simpson"I have never, ever been this happy. I didn't know it was possible to be this happy," she said.
In 2020, Alison became a mum for a second time with the arrival of her son. She previously told The Sunday Post that having a newborn baby and toddler in lockdown was "the darkest and most difficult thing I've ever lived through" as she missed having people stop by. "I felt totally alone, we were completely on our own with nothing to break up the days," she continued, adding that she was pleased to return to work when restrictions lifted.
© BBCAlison shares her children with her partner, Scottish playwright DC Jackson, whom she met when the actress starred in his 2011 play, My Romantic History.
DC has penned a number of plays, including The Marriage of Figaro, Threeway, and Kill Johnny Glendenning.
© Robbie Jack/Corbis via Getty ImagesAlison previously revealed that she started to land "more interesting roles" after meeting her other half. "I'm not saying he's the power behind me," she explained, adding: "But our relationship made a difference."
