Dawn French was unable to hug husband Mark Bignell during first lockdown due to his front line work
Dawn French has revealed that she couldn’t hug her husband in the first lockdown and they had to sleep separately because he was a front line worker – so she got to hug Rob Brydon before him while filming for a TV show.
She told her acting friend Rob, 56, that the hug with him for the film Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse meant a lot to her – even though they were just playing their characters.
Dawn, 64, told Rob on the Thursday episode of his podcast Brydon &: ‘Here was the first thing that I had done out of the lockdown.
Torn apart: Dawn French, 64, has revealed she couldn’t hug her husband in the first lockdown and they had to sleep separately because he was a front line worker (seen last month)
‘I’ve been telling people about the day that you and I had to have a hug, and what was very strange about that for me was that I had not hugged anybody – well I might have hugged my daughter – but I hadn’t even really hugged my husband because my husband is a front line worker.
‘And we were told that he could either move house and not live with us in the lockdown and live near work and not see us, or he could live with us but he had to be in a separate room at night and stuff like that, and we had to keep our distance for safety.
‘This was when we were all very scared. Seems mad now, but anyway.
Unusual times: Dawn’s husband Mark Bignell, 56, was told he could stay away from home or remain at the house he shares with Dawn but sleep in a separate bedroom (pictured 2015)
‘So I hadn’t hugged my own husband, and then I saw in the script it said “they hug”, or whatever it said.
‘And I thought “oh my god, I’m going to hug Rob before I’m hugging my own husband”.
‘And that hug meant a lot to me and I wanted it to go on forever.’
Friends in high places: Dawn hugged pal Rob Brydon, 56, before her husband while the pair filmed TV movie Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse
All stars: Both Dawn and Rob worked on 2020 made-for-TV film Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse, with Dawn playing Beatrix Potter
Playing the part: Rob appeared in the Sky original drama movie as the character of William Heelis
Dawn’s husband is Mark Bignell, 56, co-founder of Hamoaze House, a charity that supports recovering drug abusers and alcoholics to rehabilitate and reintegrate into society.
The star’s words come after she admitted she was ‘very jealous’ of her comedy partner Jennifer Saunders following her success with popular sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.
Actress Jennifer, 63, became a household name in the nineties when she starred alongside Joanna Lumley, 75, in the BBC comedy.
Best of friends: Dawn French has revealed how she was ‘very jealous’ of her comedy partner Jennifer Saunders following her success with popular sitcom Absolutely Fabulous
Dawn – who is now hugely successful herself – said that she couldn’t help but feel envious over the buzz surrounding her friend’s show.
Jennifer enjoyed individual success in self-written sitcom, while French when on to match her mainstream popularity in rural comedy The Vicar Of Dibley.
The star added that any jealously she felt was outweighed by the happiness and love that she felt for Jennifer and her success.
At the time, the comedy duo had been set to film another series of French And Saunders when Jennifer went to film Ab Fab with Joannna.
Speaking on Rylan Clark-Neal’s RyUnion podcast, she said: ‘I got very conflicted about her massive success with Ab Fab… you know when your sister does really well at something? ‘You’re like: ‘Oh good for you, good for you… f*** you’.
She added: ‘When you love somebody as much as I love Jennifer, the glee and the happiness and the pride overshadows any other stuff… it does.’
Ab fab! Actress Jennifer, 63, became a household name in the nineties when she starred alongside Joanna Lumley, 75, in the BBC comedy