Gillian Anderson reflects on returning to work '10 days after a C-section'

Gillian Anderson has described the pressure she experienced as a new mother working on The X-Files.

The Sex Education actress became a parent in 1994, just as her TV show The X-Files started to hit it big in the ratings.

Now, she's described heading straight back to work just 10 days after giving birth to her daughter Piper Klotz – and the fact it wasn't what she wanted.

"10 days after a C-section," Gillian, 55, told Grazia magazine. "I wouldn't have chosen that but I had no choice."

Gillian went on to say that even in her relatively privileged position, being a new working mother had been hard.

"I had help and I still struggled," she pointed out. "Women who raise children on their own are superwomen, they are amazing."

She added that that period of her life was so stressful, she at times thought she was losing her sanity – despite all the support she had.

"I didn't know what the f**k I was doing!" Gillian confided. "You're upside down and you feel, sometimes, like you're slightly going mad. And I had help."

Gillian's next role is in the upcoming Netflix movie Scoop, out on 5 April.

She plays journalist Emily Maitlis, who conducted a bombshell 2019 interview with Prince Andrew about sexual misconduct allegations.