New Tricks Amanda Redman: 'Sandra's life is my idea of hell'

TV Times magazine talks to New Tricks star Amanda Redman about how family and friends, especially her actor daughter Emily and husband Damien, are central to her life...

How does your New Tricks character Sandra Pullman's life seem to you?
"Her life is my idea of hell. No man, no child, no friends outside work. You wonder how she manages to get up in the mornings."

How was your wedding last year?
"Fabulous, at one point, during his speech Damian said that even when I'm sitting in front of him in a grubby old tee shirt, with food in my hair he looks at me still wants to shout from the rooftops, 'She's mine!' At that point I thought, 'Oh no. I'm sobbing. How embarrassing...' But when I looked around so was everybody else! Even the guy who did our wedding video put it a note to say, 'You have no idea how many times I cried while I was editing this DVD.' It was just that kind of wedding. Aside from when Emily was born it was just the happiest day of my life and one I'll never forget."

And a year on?
"The funny thing is that both of us expected to feel a bit flat afterwards, but the anti-climax never arrived. Even now, every morning we wake up and we're happy to see each other. We grin at each other. It's lovely."

What are Damien's qualities?
"Kindness, decency and maturity. He's the most honourable man I've ever met and in every difficult situation he's my rock. Plus, of course, he's the world's most brilliant cook. I know how lucky I am."

So it has been a fabulous year?
"Yes except my stepdad died earlier this year, which has been incredibly sad for all of us but especially for my poor mum. They were married for more than 25 years and now she finds herself alone for the first time in her life at the age of 83. We visit her in Brighton, where I grew up and she still lives, as often as we can and we have her to stay with us. Our house in Ealing always seems to be filled with friends and laughter and hopefully it goes some way to cheer her up."

What is it like having your daughter Emily back from drama school?
"The house is all the more cheerful. It took the best part of a year, when she went away, for me to resist the temptation to call her every five minutes to make sure she was safe. I missed her so much it almost felt like bereavement. Now having her back I find myself worrying about her all over again. She'll say, 'Mum, I'm all grown up now.' But I know that my mum still worries about me and always will. It's just comes with the territory of being a mother."

And how do you feel about her appearing in New Tricks?
"Very proud. When we did our scenes together in the interview room at UCOS my heart was racing, I was so nervous for her. But at the same time I was so impressed with the choices that she made in those scenes and by the fact, that even though she had pages of dialogue she was word perfect - which is something the rest of us never are! It did feel incredibly special that we were able to work together on Emily's first big TV role. It felt like a total privilege."

*New Tricks returns to BBC One on Monday, August 1