Emily Atack has revealed that her body was 'in pieces' when she returned to work just 11 weeks after giving birth to her son. The 36-year-old actress, best known for her role as Sarah Stratton in the Disney+ hit series Rivals, welcomed her son Barney with fiancé Alistair Garner in June 2024. She headed back to set three months later to film a new drama.
Speaking about her role in Channel 5's The Rumour, Atack told HELLO! magazine: 'It was a lovely job, but that was really tough. My body was still in pieces. I could barely walk, but I had to get back to work.'
Nearly two years on, the actress admitted that she and her fiancé are 'just getting our lives back to a semi-routine' following Barney's arrival. She added: 'I love babies, but I'm focusing on my little Barney for now, because he's a handful and he's keeping me on my toes.'
When asked if she has considered having another child, Atack said: 'I'm so obsessed with Barney, I cannot imagine being obsessed with another baby at this stage. We don't have any plans to have more, but who knows?'
In addition to focusing on her son, Atack is also planning her wedding. The former Inbetweeners star is 'in the thick of' organising her three-day nuptials, and her 'telly hubby' Rufus Jones, who plays Paul Stratton in Rivals, has been asked to give a reading.
Atack recently spoke about how she views her body as a 'completely different vessel' after childbirth. On Jamie Laing's Great Company podcast, she said: 'There's something quite liberating about having a baby. Your body goes through so much, and you genuinely look at your body as a completely different vessel.'
She continued: 'Being pregnant and being desexualised, looking at your body, you create a human inside you, then you give birth to your child – which by the way is mental – you get home, and the first thing people say to you is, "When are you going to get back in the gym?" Are you kidding? I've just created a human, I am exhausted! I've just tried to push a human out of me and had it ripped out of my stomach.'
'The last thing I want to do is go to the gym, but the first thing you're expected to do is get back into shape. Where's the congratulations for being a mother? Instead, it's when are you going to get the baby weight off… I'm not back at the gym at the minute, I've actually put on more weight since giving birth. I'm just enjoying this bit.'
Atack led the glamorous arrivals at the premiere for Rivals series two, held at the BFI IMAX South Bank in London on Wednesday night. She wowed in a plunging silver gown, posing on the red carpet alongside co-stars Victoria Smurfit, Nafessa Williams, and Bella Maclean. She hugged her on-screen husband Rufus Jones, who plays Paul Stratton.
Based on Dame Jilly Cooper's 1988 novel, the comedy-drama debuted on Disney+ in October 2024 and immediately became a huge hit. The eight-episode first series ended in December 2024 and was soon renewed for a second outing. The all-star cast, including David Tennant, Emily Atack, and Danny Dyer, returns for more raucous exploits in Rutshire.
Rivals series two more than lives up to its opening run, according to critics, with a string of five-star reviews heralding its return to screens on Friday. Critics previewing the first four episodes have almost unanimously praised the second outing.
