Joanne Froggatt says being a mother is 'terrifying' as she makes rare comments about parenthood and bringing her toddler on set

Joanne Froggatt has candidly opened up about how she balances a career and raising a young daughter in a rare conversation about parenthood.

The MobLand actress, 46, welcomed her daughter in September 2024 with boyfriend Mark Turner.

She was previously married to her consultant ex-husband James Cannon for eight years before they split in 2020. 

Joanne, who played maid Anna Bates for the full six series of Downton Abbey and plays Jan Da Souza in MobLand, admitted she sometimes struggles with 'juggling' family time while she often works away a lot.

Speaking on Josh Smith's Great Chat Show, Joanne explained: 'I'm in an industry that is in some ways fantastic for being a working mum and in some ways not because you have to be away from home and then you have to make the decision. 

'You know my daughter is so young, I don't want to be away from her so we are travelling together. But there's a huge amount of logistics that go with that as well. 

'I'm lucky that I have had periods in my work life where I have a lot of downtime at home, which if I was in a corporate world, say, I wouldn't have those hours with my daughter. 

'So it's a good industry for that, and it is an industry where I would be able to bring her into work if I need to. Whereas lots of people don't have that opportunity, but for any working parent, the juggle is real. 

'You know, no matter what you do for a living. No matter what your childcare situation, if you have family close by, if you don't, there's all these things and most households can't afford to be on a one income 100 per cent, and some households have no choice because they are a one parent family.' 

Joanne also shared her 'terrifying' fears of being a mother to a daughter in a world that is 'ridiculously harsh on the way women look'.

She added: 'I find it kind of terrifying being the mother of a daughter, being a mother of a girl. I hope there's a huge shift by the time she grows up because.'

'Rarely ever do you see a man on the front and it's all over social media "What has she had done to her face? What hasn't she had done to her face?"' she continued.

'"You're damned if you do. You're damned if you don't. She's aging badly. Oh my goodness she just looks like everybody else because she's had too much done".

'Society has become obsessed with women aging. We were going in the right direction. I feel like we've come full circle in the wrong direction. And hopefully things will flip again. But we've got to stop centering women's age. 

'These women that have been talked about are ironically successful in their fields. Incredibly talented, incredibly intelligent, incredible businesswomen. And what we're talking about is how they're aging and what their face looks like.

'Men are judged on their talents, on their skills, on their achievements, their intelligence, their humour. And we're still judging women on the way they look. 

'And it's difficult because now with AI and social media and what I look like in a photo with full hair and makeup is very different from how I look on screen playing a character that is not in her own makeup. 

'And I think what we often see when we're flicking through our feeds is this perfection of a photo where no one's face is moving and the light's great, and there's probably a bit of a touch up and all of those things. 

'And I think we need to come back to seeing people's faces. Real faces… Like with age comes the most amazing confidence, the most amazing experience, and hopefully a bit of wisdom.' 

Listen and watch Josh Smith’s Great Chat Show on Spotify.