MICHELLE KEEGAN OPENS UP ON LIFE AS WORKING MOTHER

Michelle Keegan has spoken about the challenges of balancing motherhood with her acting career, describing herself as "absolutely shattered". Keegan welcomed her first child, daughter Palma, with her husband Mark Wright in March 2025. She stars as DI Emma Crane opposite Douglas Booth in the newly released ITV drama The Blame, a role she accepted before Palma was born. Speaking to Grazia, Keegan said she "went in blinded", explaining that she believed work would be manageable but found the reality difficult. She said long days on set were followed by learning lines at home while also caring for her baby overnight.

Keegan praised her husband as "a great partner" and "such a good dad", and said both her family and her husband's family had been "brilliant" in supporting her. She said the adjustment remained tough despite that support, adding "I'm not going to lie. It's tough." This was not the first time Keegan has discussed the difficulty of her new circumstances. Earlier this month, she and Booth appeared on This Morning, where she told hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary that she had been "shattered", while praising Booth for being "brilliant" during filming.

Keegan, formerly of Coronation Street, remains in The Blame but withdrew from another ITV project. According to one report, she had been set to play a barrister in an unnamed new series but pulled out months before filming began, citing a wish to spend more time with her family. No further details of that production have been made public.