We are supping at the virtual Rovers

CORRIE JULIA ON BEING A NEW MUM

The Rada-trained actress says that as she was heavily pregnant at the time, the storyline suited her right down to the ground.

“I was filming until two weeks before my son was born, so it was nice to just lie there all day,” she said. “The hardest part was trying not to fall asleep.

“At one point I actually did nod off and I snored, one of those little snores that wake you up, and Jack Shepherd was laughing at me. He said, ‘Nice one!’ ”

Julia’s bump was hidden by pillows either side of her under the bed covers, to make the top of the bed look flat. And because it was so close to her due date, Street bosses took extra precautions.

She said: “I had a midwife on set in case anything happened.

“The bed had to be at a 45 degree angle. They even got me a body-double in case I got tired.

“We also had some brilliant nurses with us, who hooked all the wires and tubes on exactly how they would if I was in ICU, so I had all the stickers on my back and front and a tube up my nose.

“I’d be eating lunch with wires coming out all over me.”

Julia, married to trainee teacher Ben Silver, gave birth to son Franklin Wolf in November and returned to work in February.

She had only been back four weeks before filming was shut down because of the coronavirus. She admits having a newborn at such an uncertain time is a worry.

She said: “I just don’t want to be outside, because it’s not safe.

“At first everyone was saying young people can’t get it – which sadly wasn’t the case. We go out in the back yard with him and I do a walk round the park first thing in the morning before anybody is around, but I’m trying to keep him as sheltered as possible.

“It’s such a sad and horrible time for the world, but at least I’m with my baby all the time which is one blessing. It’s nice that I get to spend every day with him.

“He’s my whole existence now. At the moment he’s obsessed with his thumbs because he’s realising they belong to him, and that’s absolutely beautiful.”

When she returned in February,