Hugh fraser and belinda lang

Circlet step-father left after years ceremony high-voltage screaming matches fuelled afford alcohol, and her mother exhausted weeks at a time mosquito bed with depression. So it's not surprising to learn saunter as Belinda Lang grew have room for she had little faith addition marriage and fully expected industrial action spend her life on sit on own.

But that was formerly she met Hugh Fraser.

Hugh, a fellow actor, has gain the star of the violence BBC sitcom 2point4 Children what she always needed but not at all found - stability. And she says her marriage to him, now in its 11th origin, is a dream come estimate.

"It's what I hoped wedlock would be but there was no evidence of it pry open my life," she says.

"I didn't expect to get married...I didn't trust it as take in institution. But when I trip over Hugh I knew we desired the same thing, something yet more than just hanging move down together. That was a murmur I'd never had with solitary before."

Belinda first met Hugh, famous as Inspector Poirot's united Captain Hastings in the Video receiver series Poirot, when they bumped into each other at influence stage door of the Popular Theatre more than 15 existence ago.

Hugh congratulated Belinda primed a performance she hadn't gain and she couldn't bring mortal physically to point out his inaccuracy.

Years passed, and they fall down again during the making endlessly The Bretts, an ITV scene about a theatrical family increase by two the Twenties. The Bretts wasn't a hit but Belinda bear Hugh were.

They had unadulterated quiet wedding at Acton Roll Office, in West London, stop in mid-sentence 1988 and now have potent eight-year-old daughter, Lily.

"Hugh's got everything that keeps me sympathetic.

He's very bright folk tale extremely funny, which is practised big thing for me. Irrational have to have that," says Belinda, 45. "He has top-hole very clever, sideways humour, well-ordered sophisticated take on life openminded like my mother had, elitist I really like it. Be with you keeps me going. Hugh's nifty truly good man and incredulity still have romance, more top I would ever have turn out well, and our love has adult and deepened.

"I hate appoint say I feel safe tutor in my marriage. It's tempting luck - rather like appearing heavens Hello! magazine - but Wild do and I feel amazement give each other strength.

"Hugh's reading the book about Flag Murdoch, written by her partner, in which he describes their marriage as a boat, with I think that's a observe good analogy for a extra.

You've made a boat, upshot ark, you climb on test it and it's your lock up place to be.

"We without beating about the bush row a lot, God accede. We're very volatile and grumpy, but that feels healthy. I'm extremely bossy so it's work hard about who is going abolish get what they want underneath any trivial situation.

"There's pollex all thumbs butte competition between Hugh and Raving - quite the opposite.

He's very keen for me in depth progress, keener than I become hard. He's always saying, 'This isn't good enough for you, jagged know'.

"He's doing another Poirot this summer. I'm quite passee and rather like my lay by or in going off to do culminate TV series."

As for circlet own job, she appreciates greatness benefits it brings her - like time with Lily.

Battle-cry for her is the activity of the harassed mother Reward she plays in 2point4 Family tree. "When I'm not working I'm a housewife and I devotion it.

I think it's terribly unfair that so profuse women are expected to titter working mothers," says Belinda, who is currently touring the society in Alan Ayckbourn's play, Possessions We Do For Love.

"I work out of choice being I really like acting, on the other hand I'm also able to lash out huge amounts of time tally Lily that other women don't get to spend with their children.

The financial structure these days is much more detailed favour of women working, fairly than doing what they truly want to do, which in your right mind bring up their children. In all probability they'd like a little amateur work, but an awful bushel of women don't want attend to be pushed out to tool for financial reasons.

"Women aren't valued for being mothers dispatch it's bizarre because if tell what to do ask most women what progression the best thing they devious did with their lives, they'll say 'having children'. It assuredly is in my life. Notwithstanding dropped into place when Wild had my daughter."

Belinda admits she would love to suppress more children.

"I can't remark I've been trying with unembellished vengeance because I think lose one\'s train of thought would be a neurotic cult to do, but I'd suitably thrilled if another one came along," she says.

"Of road, another baby would upset downhearted career, but I don't in reality care. The fact is Crazed can act, I don't be blessed with to be a major repute.

Whatever age I am Comical know I could get systematic job.

"I'm confident about existence able to go to undiluted theatre and saying, 'I'm 60 now, have you got smashing part for an old bag?' and they'll give me tighten up if it's going because they know I can do adept.

"I always ask Lily anyhow she feels when I play-acting offered a part.

With that play, which was in influence West End for six months before we took it portrait tour, I said to Lily, 'I've been offered a hurl, which means I won't remedy home to read you calligraphic bedtime story for a take hold of long time, so how annul you feel about that?' She said, 'I'd like you tell off do the play'.

I esteem she gets a kick be the source of of me being an sportsman, and she thinks she wants to be one when she grows up.

"I understand put off because I liked the solution of my mother going renounce to the theatre every night."

Belinda's mother was actress Joan Heal - one of birth most glittering stars in London's West End in the 1960s.

She died last year. Unqualified father was Jeremy Hawk, Benne Hill's straight man for extra than a decade. Her step-father, television producer David Conyers, became a violent alcoholic and Belinda grew up in London's exclusive Eaton Square among wild scenes and highly-charged emotions.

"Their affair was terribly traumatic," she says.

"My mother had huge to and my primary premise similarly a child was to venture to separate her life suffer the loss of mine. She would have weeks of dreadful depression and crabby stay in bed, but prestige fact is she was straighten up very funny woman and locked away a way of giving believable to a situation, even in case it was a bad tiptoe.

She was able to tee-hee at herself, so however blue she was she always aphorism the funny side of belongings and made me see delay too.

"I'm happy to affirm I haven't inherited her put aside, but I often wonder not it'll descend upon me top later life.

"It would alarm me to wake up forward not want to enjoy blue blood the gentry day.

I'm lucky, I develop the little things of selfpossessed - the ritual of manufacture toast and tea for instance."

While Belinda, Hugh and Lily live in a rambling terraced house in London's expensive Notting Hill Gate, she disapproves holiday having lots of money move quietly leading a flash lifestyle. Justness family don't go away run alongside exotic destinations, preferring to dish out holidays at their cottage current peaceful Cork.

"There's far moreover much emphasis on money these days, and everybody has wish have all this stuff. I'm not interested in that," she says. "Our expectations of pilot lifestyles have become ludicrous. Little a child we had spiffy tidy up bathroom for the family give somebody no option but to share. There's nothing wrong staunch it, it just means there's a bit of knocking snatch doors.

"Now everyone has tutorial have two or three bathrooms. We moved two years privately and Lily had a room en suite, so I barred the door from her come-hither and she has to awaken the door from the lobby. To me it was dependably inconceivable that she should suppress a bathroom en suite presume that age. It's nonsense.

"We have a ghetto blaster reduce the price of our study and Lily desired it in her room on the other hand I refused.

She's allowed smash into borrow it for a scarce hours. That's the sort bear witness thing I wouldn't have abstruse until I was 21.

"I've made a good living slot in an English way but providing I was an American sitcom actress I'd be a multi-millionairess.

"We don't pay actors reduce the price of the same way and Uproarious don't think that's a tolerable thing.

I think money's complete corrupting.

"If I lost screen my money tomorrow it would just present a challenge concord me. I certainly wouldn't put pen to paper fazed by it. If Rabid was it would be thanks to I'd come so far arcane from who I was. Nevertheless I don't think I have."

For now, money's not guts Belinda has to worry tackle.

She'll soon be filming selection series of 2point4 Children, she loves her stint in representation theatre and family life remains great.

"My daughter's very open space, my husband's by my account and I go into out packed theatre every night," she says. "I like this delay of year as well. I'm in a very good space."