Michelle Keegan opens up on 'shattered' life as working mum

Michelle Keegan has admitted she is "absolutely shattered" juggling her acting career with motherhood, confessing she went into her latest television role "blinded".

The 39-year-old actress welcomed her first child, a daughter named Palma, with her husband, television personality Mark Wright, in March 2025.

In a new interview with Grazia magazine, the former Coronation Street star detailed the challenges of balancing her full-time acting career with her responsibilities as a mother.

Keegan currently stars as Detective Inspector Emma Crane in the ITV crime drama The Blame. She explained that she had accepted the part before her daughter was born, and did not realise how difficult the adjustment would be.

A challenging adjustment

"Listen, I think I went in blinded," Keegan told the magazine. "Obviously I agreed to the role before I had Palma, because I was so excited by it."

"I think you just believe that you're going to be fine. And of course I can do it, loads of women work full-time and are a mum. But it is hard. It's really hard."

The actress described the reality of her filming schedule, which involved long days on set followed by evenings learning lines for the next day's scenes, all while caring for a young baby at night.

She credited her husband, 39, who rose to fame on the reality series The Only Way Is Essex, for his support during the intense production period.

"Luckily Mark's brilliant, he's a great partner and he's such a good dad as well," she said. "Thank God I've got the support system with Mark, and his family and my family have been brilliant as well."

'Working two jobs'

Despite the help from her family, Keegan admitted the physical toll of her schedule was significant.

"I'm not going to lie. It's tough... I'm absolutely shattered," she said.

Her comments follow a recent appearance on the ITV daytime programme This Morning, where she discussed her daughter's milestones with hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary.

Appearing alongside her 34-year-old The Blame co-star Douglas Booth, Keegan revealed that Palma, now a year and a half old, is already running.

When discussing the filming of the series, Booth remarked that Keegan had been "working two jobs at once".

Keegan agreed, telling the hosts: "I was shattered! And learning lines. It wasn't easy but we got through it and Doug was brilliant."

Prioritising family

Earlier this year, the Brassic star had spoken about the prospect of returning to television sets, describing the experience as "quite daunting" after giving birth.

"But the production were so supportive and I was so looked after and it was like working with family," she said of her time on The Blame.

The actress recently stepped away from another major ITV drama series in order to prioritise her family commitments. She had been scheduled to play a working-class barrister, but withdrew from the project months before filming was set to begin.

She will be replaced in the role by 44-year-old actress Jodie Whittaker.

A source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper that Keegan's departure was a "huge blow" to the production, as she had committed to the project and a filming date had been agreed upon.

"Michelle was really keen to take on the meaty role, but the heavy filming schedule would take her away from daughter Palma for too long," the source told the newspaper.

The source added that the hours required for the new series were "intense", and because production was scheduled to start immediately following her work on the Netflix drama The Woods, she felt unable to commit.

"She is dedicated to her acting career, but like all working mums has to prioritise being there for her family, juggling work, parenting and being present for Palma," the source said.