(please note, that in some cases, not all of the original article has been reprinted here, only the segments that relate to James and Sarah's relationship.)

Calling his 4-month-old daughter "a real fighter," James Murray admits that since the birth of Ella-Jayne in May, the actor, along with his actress wife Sarah Parish, "have been through hell." When E-J (as they lovingly call her) was born via an emergency Cesarean five weeks early, she had to immediately undergo heart surgery, a scenario that the couple were aware of before the birth. In a new interview with e-motion, James shares that the couple "knew before she was born that there was a chance it might be a bit hairy, and the birth was very traumatic." Thinking that their baby girl was on the mend and recovering well, the 33-year-old first time dad signed on to star in the series Monday Monday, but soon realized that "you can never plan anything in life, and never take anything for granted." Only a few shorts weeks after being released from the hospital, E-J was rushed back to the emergency room in July and underwent another successful heart operation, with both Sarah and James -- who pulled out from his new role -- constantly by her hospital crib.

With the birth of E-J, James -- who says it's important to "find positives in this kind of situation" -- and Sarah have not only welcomed a beautiful little girl, they have also managed to "discover something people can spend a lifetime finding: a perspective on what's important in life." With that same attitude, the couple realize that "we all look ahead and think, if only I could have this, or achieve that, I'd be happy." As a result of the challenging obstacles the new parents have faced, not only have they become sponsors of the NICU where E-J was cared for, but their outlook on life has dramatically changed with James saying, "this has forced us to take every day as it comes."

The British couple had announced the pregnancy back in January. In February, Sarah, 40, had said she was feeling "a little sick at the beginning of the pregnancy," but was "delighted" to become a mum for the first time.

Source: e-motion

Actor James Murray and his actress wife Sarah Parish left the big smoke to set up home in the heart of rural Hampshire. He tells Rebecca Gooch why he loves the countryside and how they have reassessed their priorities

Since he was knee-high to an AK47, James Murray has seemed destined to be an adventure hero. From Jimmy Savile "fixing it" for him as a seven-year old to become his idol James Bond, to saving the planet on a weekly basis in the hit sci-fi TV series Primeval, "action man" has always been his middle name. But after battling deadly prehistoric monsters with all guns blazing, you'll now find the 33-year-old actor dealing with some altogether gentler creatures—his chickens or, as he affectionately calls them, "my girls", who live happily in an enclosure at the bottom of his sprawling garden, deep in the beautiful rolling countryside east of Winchester.

This is the home James shares with his wife, Mistresses actress Sarah Parish. The pair decided to leave the city and now juggle their busy working lives with semi self-sufficiency on their 1½-acre smallholding in Hampshire.

Although James is best known as sharp-shooting scientist Stephen Hart in Primeval, his first significant TV appearance— after a few years travelling the world, and with a degree in scriptwriting and directing under his belt—was 10 years ago as a barman in Coronation Street. He has since appeared in such series as Clocking Off and the legal drama North Square, and has the lead in the new remake of the horror classic It's Alive!

His looks have won him innumerable female fans, many of whom remember how he wooed Keeley Hawes in Under the Greenwood Tree in 2005, complete with a Mr Darcy-style wet shirt scene. That same year he met his wife-to-be on the set of the hairdressing drama series Cutting It. Sarah's character was leaving the series as James' was arriving, so their paths only crossed briefly. "We got on as mates, but we went our own way afterwards. Then invariably you get thrown back together for launches and things and it all blossomed from there," he says with a grin.

"Since then—well, look what we've created," he adds, gesturing around their white-timbered house. "It's a happy outcome. We were both brought up in the country, Sarah in Somerset and me around Manchester and Herefordshire, and we wanted to get back there and find somewhere to work on and improve. When Sarah found this place in Hampshire while trawling the internet, we fell in love with it."

The site where their house now stands, near Alresford, is mentioned in village records as far back as 1285, and its quirky history captivated the couple. The original property was the mill, then a pub and in the 1960s it became a cattery for 30 years. They have restored the property and James' pride and joy is the vegetable and fruit plot he created with Sarah. "I know it sounds like a cliché, but growing your own food is just the most rewarding thing. It tastes a million times better because you've seen it through from seed to harvest."

The couple married last December in a local church. When Sarah realised she was expecting their first baby, their joy seemed complete. But in May their lives were turned upside down with the emergency Caesarean birth of their daughter Ella-Jayne, five weeks prematurely with heart problems. "E-J" fought back from a heart operation at only five days old, then needed to be rushed back to Southampton General Hospital for further emergency surgery just weeks later.

They spent every day by Ella-Jayne's hospital cot, willing her to survive. James had already begun work on the new ITV comedy-drama series Monday Monday starring Fay Ripley, but when E-J needed her second heart operation in early July, he had to pull out. "What all this has taught Sarah and me is that you can never plan anything in life, and never take anything for granted. We've been through hell," he says frankly, as the couple's dogs Jake and Pig settle comfortingly by his feet. "We knew before she was born that there was a chance it might be a bit hairy, and the birth was very traumatic. But, touch wood, she has decided for us that she should be around. She's a real fighter.

"You've got to find positives in this kind of situation, and what we discovered is something people can spend a lifetime finding: a perspective on what's important in life. We all look ahead and think, if only I could have this, or achieve that, I'd be happy. This has forced us to take every day as it comes."

As we spoke, E-J was still recovering in hospital. Grateful for the "faultless" help they received at Southampton General Hospital, the couple have become patrons of its Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.

During this intense time, James found solace in working on the smallholding or fishing—he has been a keen fly-fisherman since boyhood—at one of the many chalk streams nearby. "The Test and Itchen rivers are some of the best for fly-fishing in Europe, if not the world," he says.

Being in the heart of the country, yet only 50 miles from London, has proved a perfect contrast to James' acting life. "It's a great counterbalance. We're only about 50 minutes to London from our two local stations, Winchester and Basingstoke, and I use the train all the time. I love getting back on board at Waterloo. As the houses thin out my shoulders relax and I think, I've loved my little city blitz, but it's really nice to be able to leave it. We are so lucky in that respect."

James may still be an action man, but he's happiest at home in Hampshire—no guns, just him and his girls, treasuring the important things in life.

Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden has got a big day ahead of her - and an equally large pay cheque.

TV Land can reveal she has sold the rights to her forthcoming wedding for a six-figure sum.

Amanda is marrying her long-term partner Chris Hughes at Babington House on December 11.

Once they clocked the guest list, glossy magazines have been fighting over the chance to cover the event, with OK! thought to have won the battle.

Amanda said: "Formula One driver David Coulthard will be the best man - he's been Chris's closest friend for years."

Amanda has also invited showbiz pals including Sarah Parish from Cutting It and Lucy - Jo Hudson and Jessie Wallace from Wild At Heart.

Britain's Got Talent boss Simon Cowell and hosts Ant and Dec are also thought to be attending.

We bet Simon at some point will say: "I've gotta tell you, the bride said 100 per cent yes."

And Amanda, of course, will burst into tears.

There's a buzz in the air as five formidable Brit actresses preen themselves, preparing to be photographed together. They share stories and chat about a vintage TV year. Lesley Manville and Julia Sawalha shared screen time in Cranford, shortlisted for four Baftas (including a Sky+ award) while previous winner Anna Maxwell Martin starred in White Girl and Poppy Shakespeare. Sarah Parish whet our appetites with the first series of Mistresses and Emilia Fox shone in Silent Witness. As the shoot begins, a heavily pregnant Sarah Parish is offered a champagne flute. She laughs, exclaiming: 'Am I allowed to have bubbly and be pregnant? Do you want me smoking a fag, too?' With that, the next couple of hours pass in a blur of giggles, baby name suggestions and mutual admiration.

Cranford, shortlisted for four Baftas (including a Sky+ award) while previous winner Anna Maxwell Martin starred in White Girl and Poppy Shakespeare. Sarah Parish whet our appetites with the first series of Mistresses and Emilia Fox shone in Silent Witness. As the shoot begins, a heavily pregnant Sarah Parish is offered a champagne flute. She laughs, exclaiming: 'Am I allowed to have bubbly and be pregnant? Do you want me smoking a fag, too?' With that, the next couple of hours pass in a blur of giggles, baby name suggestions and mutual admiration.

TV guilty pleasure Parish: Sex and the City. There's something awful about watching four vacuous women wearing fabulous clothes talking about boys, but I loved it.

Worst TV ever Maxwell Martin: X Factor. It needs to go now, we've had Leona, she was great, you're not going to do any better, Simon.

Most likely to watch Sawalha: The Sopranos. Now it's over, and I'm grieving.

Favourite childhood TV Manville: The Man From UNCLE. I loved David McCallum, who played this incredibly exotic character called Illya Kuryakin. I was nine and he was my first crush.

Earliest TV memory Fox: When I was little I was in bed and I heard my dad [Edward Fox] making a hysterical noise. I thought something really awful had happened. The next day he told me he'd been watching Fawlty Towers.

"If you think you are beautiful in a scene, you will come across as beautiful. I don't think looks are important, I think what's important is if someone is sexy," she explains.

"Someone might have a great face, but all the sex appeal of a walnut. And then other people walk into the room and you're like, 'Wow!!' because they've just got it. And my husband has definitely got it – whatever 'it' is." For as well as the talent, she also has great taste in men. Among her former boyfriends are her North Square co-star James Murray, composer Dominic Shovelton and the delicious Rufus Sewell.

BBC1's drama about the love lives of a group of Bristol women, Mistresses, will return next year for a second series.

Filming on the second series of Mistresses will start in September and the programme will air next year.

The drama's four lead actors - Sarah Parish, Sharon Small, Orla Brady and Shelley Conn - will all reprise their roles as the quartet of friends in their 30s searching for true love.

Mistresses concluded its first series with 5.2 million viewers and a 22% share earlier this year on BBC1.

"The response to Mistresses has been phenomenal. In the new series we will learn a great deal more about Katie, Trudi, Siobhan and Jessica as well as the men, and women, in their lives," said Douglas Rae, the executive producer and managing director of production company Ecosse Films.

"We are planning plenty more surprises and maybe even a couple of new faces will be joining the cast."

Julie Gardner, the head of drama for BBC Wales, added: "The first series really struck a chord with the BBC audience and we're thrilled to be welcoming the characters back so we can further enjoy the thrills and spills of their messy romantic lives."

I've found a dead body, gained 3lb and had Piers try to ogle me ... but it will be worth it, says Amanda Holden.

Monday, 3rd March

This is not a dignified sport. Today I slipped on some early-morning frost and fell off a 5ft fence, flat on my bum, while trying to cross a park that wasn't open.

To top it off, I then tripped head-over-heels on a huge retriever towards the end of my run.

All the same, I completed my first 15-miler. Hurray! Gareth says it's the longest distance I need to run to be able to make it round the 26 miles.

I am amazed and thrilled that, so far, I've managed to avoid injuries except a small strain in my shoulder that happened a few days ago. I'm having physio for it.

Today the girl who treats me actually climbed on top of me to try to ease the pain.

Last week I went out for dinner with Angela, Sian and another friend from Cutting It, Sarah Parish. As I had the next day off training, we toasted the evening with pink champagne.

But because Angela was driving, Sarah is pregnant and Sian is injured after falling down a trapdoor while rehearsing her next role, I went home fairly sober. Better in the long run, I suppose.

BBC Showcase 2008 will take place at the Brighton Centre from 24 February – 27 February.

TV stars from some of BBC Worldwide's top-selling series are out in force in Brighton to support this year's BBC Showcase, the world's largest trade event hosted by a single television distributor.

The BBC Worldwide event sees a week of international premieres as over 550 buyers from TV networks in 100 countries jet into the UK to buy the best of British programmes.

Joining them are the stars from series like Mistresses, Ashes to Ashes, Oliver Twist and Cranford who will attend special gala events held to help launch key BBC Worldwide titles.

Already on the guest list are actors Sarah Parish, Shelley Conn, Sharon Small, Orla Brady, Patrick Baladi, Raza Jaffrey, Max Brown and Adam Rayner from contemporary BBC drama series Mistresses – they will be helping to kick off the four-day TV industry event at a special opening dinner held in the programme’s honour.

Primeval's James Murray will also attend, following the series' huge international sales success.

In addition, Imelda Staunton and Timothy Spall will also be there, representing the BBC's success in period drama for Cranford and Oliver Twist, respectively.

Ashes to Ashes actor Philip Glenister will also be heading down to Brighton in his beloved Audi Quattro, along with fellow cast members Keeley Hawes, Dean Andrews and Marshall Lancaster, as they prepare for the 80s inspired international premiere of Ashes to Ashes.

BBC Worldwide is the UK's largest television exporter, generating £216 million from programme sales last year. Over 1,000 hours of new British programming are available to view at BBC Showcase 2008. The average buyer sits at their viewing booth for 10 hours a day, for four days, to preview as much British programming as possible. Over 100 producers and scriptwriters descend on Brighton to help BBC Worldwide pitch to TV networks from across the globe

Over 550 buyers will attend the annual event, where they will view around 1,000 hours of the latest, leading television output from Britain.

Daily screening sessions are held across all genres, as sales teams and leading producers pitch directly to network buyers from around the world. Buyers will be presented with co-production propositions, formats and finished programming.

I had a full day yesterday, travelling down to Brighton for the first day of BBC Showcase, BBC Worldwide’s annual event promoting and selling its UK shows to broadcasters from all over the world.

A full podcast will be going up later this week, including an interview with Timothy Spall, talking about his role as Fagin in the BBC’s Oliver Twist, and a lively round-table discussion with the cast of BBC/BBC America co-production Mistresses.

As a result of that conversation, TV Today can confirm that the show, a consistent performer in its Tuesday 9pm slot and a success via BBC iPlayer, has been recommissioned for a second series.

Which cast members will be returning, though?

Certainly amongst the cast I met yesterday, the women (Shelly Conn, Sarah Parish and Sharon Small) had all had confirmation of the commission — but none of the men (Patrick Baladi, Max Brown and Adam Rayner) had heard anything. Which, amongst the rest of the good-natured banter between the cast members, caused much hilarity.

There are additional rumours — unconfirmed as yet — that a face well-known to Sex and the City fans will be joining the male cast for Series 2. Nothing definite for the time being, but given the series’ co-production status with BBC America, it’s easy to believe that a Stateside character could help increase the show’s appeal in the US. Whether it will help the series shake off the comparisons to SATC is less certain, of course.

One must wonder how a second series will be structured, given that most of the major threads in series 1 drew to a conclusion by the end of the final episode. Actress Sarah Parish (Katie) confirms:

Now we’ve set up the series, even though it’s called Mistresses it would be impossible to kind of have the four women again embarking on affairs. We’d really lose sympathy with the audience… Have we set up the four women well enough, do you think, to make a series about them without them having to sleep with loads of people… I mean, that’s where I think it will go. But I don’t know, we’ll probably get a bunch of scripts and we’ll all be off, knickers in the air!

More from BBC Showcase, including the full audio interviews with the Mistresses cast, throughout the week on TV Today.

And so the big question remains - will there be another series of the BBC's Mistresses?

Despite a lukewarm reception from the critics at first, the show has proved a hit and an awful lot of people are calling for a second innings.

But there is a problem - and it's nothing to do with the ratings, which have been admirably consistent at over five million viewers each week.

The dilemma is that not one, but two of the leading ladies are pregnant and due to give birth in June - just when filming would be due to restart.

Sarah Parish is to become a mother for the first time, while Sharon Small is expecting her second.

My spy says: "There's a great debate going on because the BBC are keen on a second run and a couple of the plots were left dangling in anticipation but it all depends on the babies."

How sweet.

The pregnant star of a popular new TV series says she is look forward to being a mum - but can't wait to be a Mistress again soon.

Former Cutting It star Sarah Parish is due to have her first child in June, on the same day she turns 40.

As one of the main actresses in Mistresses, the BBC's drama about the tangled love lives of four women, Parish is enjoying the latest success of a career that has blossomed during her 30s, but has left little time for a family.

However, Parish said she did not regret leaving motherhood so late and believes it has brought her even closer to Cutting It co-star James Murray whom she married in December.

Speaking for the first time since announcing she was pregnant, Parish said: "I was very broody when I was a teenager but then I became very focused on my career and I didn't really think about children for a while.

"You don't really think about having babies until you find the person you want to be with.

"Then I met James and after a while I went 'oh my God, I'm 39. Where did all the time go?'

"We're delighted. It's definitely makes you closer to be expecting a baby.

"It's a really nice feeling - and it's just lovely to achieve something like this together."

Part of the mum-to-be's plans is to return to work if another series of Mistresses is planned and with five million viewers it is certainly on the cards.

Parish said: "If it goes again it will probably start in August, which gives me about seven weeks.

"That's not long but it's good in a way.

"And the great thing about Mistresses is it is about four friends, so it's not like you are on set all the time.

"There's lots of time off."

AS leading lady in some of the biggest dramas on telly, Sarah Parish is rarely off our screens.

Now having a steamy affair with a toyboy in BBC1 hit Mistresses, she shot to fame in Cutting It and has had star roles in Blackpool and Peak Practice.

And as she approaches 40, Sarah is finally ready for the biggest and most challenging role of her life – being a mum.

In her first interview since announcing she was pregnant, the actress insists she is GLAD she left motherhood so late, and reckons it has brought her even closer to former Cutting It co-star James Murray, who she married in December.

Sarah says: “I was very broody when I was a teenager but then I became very focused on my career and I just didn’t really think about children for a while.

“You don’t really think about having babies until you find the person you want to be with.

“Then I met James and after a while I went, ‘Oh my God, I’m 39. Where the hell did all that time go?’

“We’re delighted. It definitely makes you closer to be expecting a baby. It’s a really nice feeling – and it’s just lovely to achieve something like this together.”

Sarah’s mother gave birth to her when she was 40, so she has no worries about leaving it a bit late.

She admits she had a relaxed attitude towards getting pregnant – and was lucky to conceive quickly. She says: “There’s such a pressure put on women but it’s the worst thing you can do, as an older woman, to panic about having children.

“I think your body closes down when you do that. The minute you go, ‘Ah, it doesn’t really matter – half a glass of wine won’t hurt,’ and bingo, you’re pregnant.

“We were trying for a while but not too long. We were quite lucky.”

Sarah admits she and James have no plans for decorating nurseries or thinking of baby names before their baby arrives. The birth is scheduled to be on June 7 – Sarah’s 40th birthday.

One thing she has decided is that she will be a working mum – and go back to acting quickly if Mistresses gets a second series.

And with five million viewers, the steamy BBC1 drama – which follows four female pals and their tangled love lives – is almost certain to return.

Sarah says: “If it goes again it will probably start in August, which gives me about seven weeks. That’s not long but it’s good in a way.

“And the great thing about Mistresses is it’s about four friends, so it’s not like you’re on set all the time. There’s lots of time off.

“I think I’m still blissfully ignorant about how it will be to be a working mum. I know people who have had babies and, of course, your whole life changes. But I’m ready for that.”

One of Sarah’s best friends, former Cutting It co-star Amanda Holden, took her daughter Lexie to South Africa for her TV series Wild At Heart when Lexie was still a baby.

But she recently quit the show when the tot started walking – because it was getting too hard to keep an eye on her.

Sarah says: “Judging by Amanda I’m going to be all right for the next couple of years. It’s when they start moving around that you’ve got to worry!”

In the flesh Sarah is every bit as sexy as she appears on TV, with her husky voice, slightly pouting mouth and dark eyes.

Her bump is small and neat, she is glowing with impending motherhood and relishing the chance to tuck into cheese and pickle sandwiches and chocolate without worrying about her weight.

And despite a bit of morning sickness when she was trying to prepare for her wedding, she is now feeling healthy and fit. Sarah admits she is taking her foot off the pedal for a while when it comes to acting, though she is still fronting advertising campaigns. At the moment she is working with BT to promote free UK weekend calls for Option 1 customers.

She says: “I was a little sick at the beginning of the pregnancy but now I feel absolutely normal.

“The only slight problem I have is with breathing because the baby is pushing up all my organs. If I’ve been sitting down for a while I start to sound a bit asthmatic.

“I’m not doing any acting work now, partly because I get too tired but also I’m too fat. I suppose I could play a busty barmaid or something, or do roles sitting down!

“But I’m not a very sitty-abouty person so I’ve got plenty to do. I’ve always got voiceovers or campaigns or something on.”

And it’s not just pregnancy that Sarah is relishing.

During the filming of Cutting It she was frequently snapped downing bottles of champagne with co-stars including James, Amanda and Angela Griffin. Then last year she gave up the party lifestyle and moved to the country in Hampshire to enjoy a more sedate pace of life.

She says: “I suppose there was a time when I did go out quite a lot.

“When I was doing Cutting It we were in Manchester so we were young, away from home and we lived the life we wanted to.

“You couldn’t do it for ever but it was fun at the time.

“We lived life to the full for three great years. We all got on incredibly well and it was just a great party time. We still see each other but we don’t go out much or, if we do, it’s for dinner and we’re in bed for 11!”

At 39, Sarah reckons she has never felt happier or more comfortable in her own skin.

She says: “Oh God, as you get older you just care less. Youth is wasted on the young.

“The older you get, the more confident you become.

“All those things that used to freak you out and make you feel really insecure when you were younger – they don’t worry you any more.

“You just see the bigger picture and think, ‘Oh, it really doesn’t matter.’ As for looks, I would hope I’ve still got a bit of fashion about me but it becomes less important.

“I find myself going to the shops and thinking, ‘Ooh, that’s got a nice loose waistband.’

“I don’t look at the great big high stilettos any more, I just think about the morning after when my feet will be utterly crippled.

“And, anyway, there’s not much call for those where I live in the country. I would get some odd looks if I tottered around Hampshire in heels.”

She plays a man-eating, homewrecking mistress on TV - but in real-life Sarah Parish is thrilled to be starting a family with her first baby.

A spokeswoman for the 39-year-old actress said last night she is "delighted". And the mum-to-be has been happily showing off her "little bump" while out shopping for maternity clothes in London.

Sarah, who married Cutting It co-star James Murray, 33, in December, will give birth in the summer. The news will surprise five million viewers who tuned in to see Sarah play sex-mad GP Katie in BBC1's new, red-hot series Mistresses.

However, Sarah has made no secret of her long-held desire to have children - but feared she'd never meet Mr Right after a string of disastrous relationships.

She once said: "In my dreams, I'd love to meet somebody who I fall in love with and have a baby."

She plays a GP who has an affair with a dying patient in Mistresses, BBC1's latest glossy drama, but Sarah Parish's off-screen life is rather more conventional.

For the 39-year-old actress is expecting her first baby with fellow actor James Murray, whom she married last month.

This week Sarah, who has starred in Doctor Who and Cutting It since making her name in the cult Boddingtons beer adverts in the Nineties, could be found shopping for maternity outfits in Mamas & Papas on Regent Street.

Says a friend of Somerset-born Sarah, who quit London last year to renovate an old mill with Murray, 32, in rural Hampshire: "Sarah is absolutely over the moon. The pregnancy has made her very happy indeed."

Sarah Parish is one of TV's most versatile actresses. And despite playing an eight-eyed alien, a scheming hairdresser and an out-of- control GP, she's also one of its most popular. James Rampton finds out why.

One of the attractive features about the actress is her refusal to take her success for granted. "It's been an amazing few years. I feel really blessed," beams Parish, who has just got married to her Cutting It co-star James Murray.
"If I ever get tired, I say to myself, 'for goodness' sake, Sarah, people like what you're doing.' I'm not very big on moaning - you can't in this business. You get driven around everywhere, someone puts your clothes and make-up on for you and you get paid quite a bit of money for it. What on earth is there to complain about?"

In spite of Parish's high profile, you are unlikely to see her falling out of nightclubs.
"I won't buy into the celeb game," says the actress, who leads a tranquil existence with Murray in Hampshire. "It seems incredibly attractive to have your picture taken - you think it means you're really famous and important. But you have to realise that the photographers are not doing it because they like you. They're just waiting for you to trip over and sho