EXCLUSIVE: As Roxy Shahidi takes fans on a behind the scenes look at her life off-screen in Drama Queens, the Emmerdale icon reveals the reason her family doesn’t appear on screen
Emmerdale star Roxy Shahidi has opened up about why her husband and six year old daughter won’t be appearing on ITVBe’s brand new documentary series, Drama Queens. The actress, who was excited to take on a new project away from the soap, confessed she was suddenly filled with nerves when the first episode aired earlier this month.
The show gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of some of the nation’s favourite soap stars as they balance work and personal life. Roxy courageously allowed cameras to capture her during vulnerable moments, such as discussing the sudden death of her father when he was 41 and she was only 17.
Despite feeling safe and comfortable filming these intimate scenes, the thought of them being broadcasted to millions filled her with panic. “When the camera is rolling, it’s just you, the other ladies and this crew you’ve got to know and trust,” says Roxy, who joined actresses including Coronation Street ‘s Lucy Fallon and Ellie Leach, and former EastEnders and now Hollyoaks star Rita Simons, for the eight-part series.
“But a few weeks later, you realise it’s actually going out on television and you can’t quite remember what it was you said! All you do remember is feeling vulnerable. I kept thinking, ‘What did I say? And how upset did I get?’
“On Emmerdale, you perform a script and you’ve got that character to hide behind but this is you, in the moment, being as authentic as you can be. And that leaves you feeling a little bit exposed. “
The fact that Roxy, 41, is naturally quite a private person meant it was an even bigger decision for her to commit to the show.
“Doing a lot of press or reality stuff, or anything that really exposed me on a personal level, is something I’ve previously shied away from, because it made me feel vulnerable,” she admits. “Rather than brave it and put my toe in the water, I just kind of hid away from it.”
One of Roxy’s toughest conundrums, when she was offered Drama Queens, was whether or not to let viewers into her home life in Nottingham. The soap star has always been private when it comes to her six year old daughter, who she shares with her husband of 14 years, actor Arsher Ali.
In fact, the couple are so notoriously private, that they have never even publicly revealed her name.
“With my daughter, we didn’t feel quite ready to put her on screen,” she says. “Arsher and I have never shared her before on social media or anything like that, and we made the decision not to do that with this as well. My husband doesn’t appear either, but that’s just because he was away working at the time.
“He’s been really busy filming the second season of Everyone Else Burns for Channel 4, and Sky’s Funny Woman, so I didn’t manage to drag him in front of the camera. But if we get a second series, I’ve threatened to do it!”
Even though her family does not appear in Drama Queens, Roxy does speak with the other leading ladies on screen particularly her Emmerdale friends, Amy Walsh and Laura Norton, about experiencing “mum guilt”.
“I think every mother has mum guilt,” says Roxy. “For me, I feel the most guilty when I’ve actually had a really nice weekend away without my husband or daughter. But it’s so important to work through that guilt, because if you don’t, you never do anything that’s just for you, whether that’s work or socialising. Those things allow you to be your fuller, whole self, and therefore a better parent. “
The Emmerdale favourite is also outspoken on the subject of working mums and the often raw deal she feels they get.
“I know it’s 2024, but in my experience, I feel like women hold that guilt more and feel as though anything they do outside of the home is kind of a luxury – that you’re somehow taking time off even if you’re working, and it shouldn’t feel like that.”
