Jeremy Edwards
Actor and X Factor: Celebrity star Jeremy Edwards on why being a dad to daughter Scarlett is the best job he’s had
Soap star Jeremy Edwards made a surprise return to the spotlight last year when he appeared on X Factor: Celebrity. Viewers will recall how he and Strictly pal Brendan Cole performed a wobbly rendition of Kylie Minogue’s Love At
First Sight in front of Simon
Cowell and an array of music bigwigs in LA.
Unfortunately, the duo didn’t make it past the first round, but Jezza admits he had “such fun” doing it and enjoyed his small screen comeback.
Jeremy, 49, was previously best known for playing hunky Kurt Benson in Hollyoaks in the 90s and was also a regular face on Holby City as health care assistant Danny Shaughnessy. But most recently, he’s been playing his biggest role to date – being dad to his three-year-old daughter Scarlett, who he calls “his everything”.
As part of our Father’s Day special, Jez heartbreakingly reveals he and his wife of 11 years, Lydia Metz, 36, struggled to conceive naturally, but life changed when they fell pregnant with Scarlett through IVF. The doting dad adds that if another child came along that would be “an absolute bonus”.
Here, a chatty Jeremy, who speaks to us from a park close to his Winchester home, spills all on rowing in lockdown, his weight loss journey and how he’ll be spending Father’s Day…
Hi Jeremy. What’s the best thing about being a dad?
Oh my God, my little girl is just everything. She looks so much like me and she’s got me wrapped around her little finger. But we don’t spoil her, because I don’t want her to be a brat.
Tell us more…
The love is incredible. It’s very liberating because all the worries that were important before are no longer important. All you care about is that little being. That’s probably why I’ve put on a bit of weight – because I’m happy.
Aw! Would you say you’re a hands-on dad?
Yeah. My wife breastfed for the whole first year and I was glad when Scarlett went on to bottles, because I could have more input. I absolutely love it.
Is Scarlett more like you or Lydia?
She’s more like me. She’s quite demonstrative and a show-off. She’s not shy in the slightest.
Have you both thought about having more children?
We would like to. Scarlett was conceived through IVF and we struggled. So we’re putting plans in place, that’s all I’m going to say. I would have preferred to have had her years ago, but it just didn’t work out that way. If another one came along it would be an absolute bonus, but I just thank my lucky stars I’ve got her.
Are you waiting until September to send Scarlett back to preschool?
Yes, out of respect for her nursery. I work sporadically and my wife doesn’t work, so if someone else is going to work they could really do with that place at the nursery.
So what are your plans for Father’s Day?
Scarlett will make me a card and give me a present. Normally, we’d go for a nice pub lunch somewhere, but this year we’ll have a picnic.
How have you and Lydia been coping in lockdown?
Well, if you’d have asked me after the first two weeks I would have said we were both looking for numbers for divorce lawyers – I’m only joking! But it was awful. I was trying to get an Airbnb around the corner from where we live just so I could have somewhere to go if I was in a mood. But I’m really proud of us because we sat down and went, “This is bullshit” and we worked it out and there have been no arguments since. We never argue in front of Scarlett.
That’s good to hear. We loved you and Brendan Cole on
X Factor: Celebrity. What was that like?
We had the best time! I even said to Simon when they booted us out, “It’s TV gold there!” When he watched it he said, “I can’t believe we said they have to go – I wish they were still in!” They were really keen to get us back again this year, but this lockdown happened and I’m under contract with someone else now. But I can’t talk about that!
Sounds exciting! You’re famous for appearing in Hollyoaks and Holby City. How do you look back at that time?
I loved it. When you leave something you don’t really want to focus on it, but as you get older you become more proud of it. Someone from Holby tweeted a scene between me and Sheridan Smith from 19 years ago. Now she’s a megastar.
Do you keep in touch with Sheridan?
I do, by text. I congratulated her on her little boy. We were so close at one point, but I moved away. I was slightly worried about her at one stage, but I’m so glad she’s got her baby and seems happy. I love that girl to bits and she knows it.
Would you ever go back to Hollyoaks?
Of course I would – in a heartbeat. It’s a family and a job for life and a lot of people are still there. I’d happily go there until retirement.
A lot of cast members have gone on to have huge success…
Yes, and I still consider myself very much part of it as I know lots of people there. We have the best track record. Rachel Shenton went on to win an Oscar [for her short film The Silent Child], James Corden is James Corden and Ricky Whittle has done big stuff in Hollywood like American Gods. I wanted to make a documentary on it called Hollyoaks To Hollywood.
We’d tune in. Well done on your 1½ stone weight loss! Why did you decide to follow the Slimfast plan?
I did that classic dad thing of putting on weight. A lot of it came from alcohol and I was always someone who used to go down to the pub, but then Scarlett came along and you can’t do that any more. So I got into the wine habit and then all the bad food came out. Before you know it you’ve piled on a bit. I got a few mean comments after being on X Factor: Celebrity and then Slimfast approached me. It’s good if you’ve got to lose weight as part of a project, because you have no choice!
And it seems it’s worked!
It’s so easy, because I just changed the way I ate. I want to trim down a little bit more, but I know what to do now. It’s been an absolute godsend.
Jeremy has lost 1½ stone following The Slimfast 3.2.1. plan. Visit slimfast.co.uk for more information