Emily Atack: We all have body confidence struggles like my Rivals character

Emily Atack has said she can relate to the body confidence struggles her Rivals character Sarah Stratton goes through in series two.

The show is returning for a new batch of episodes and Sarah is dealing with being a new mother, as well as speculation about the identity of the baby’s father.

Atack said the character is also coping with going from her identity as the “sexy bombshell” to “changing nappies”.

She added: “I think she is definitely going through that insecurity, thinking, “Oh God I used to be the sexy bombshell and I would get all the jobs that I wanted and all the men fancied me, and now I’m changing nappies.

Atack said the character is also coping with going from her identity as the ‘sexy bombshell to changing nappies’ (Jeff Moore/PA)

PA Wire

“And, you know, it’s what we all go through. We can all strive for body positivity and to embrace our motherly bodies and the stretch marks and all of that, but it’s not as simple as that for everybody.

“And again, I’m sort of half speaking as myself, half speaking on behalf of Sarah Stratton.

“In the 80s, there was no body positivity, there was no social media for people to create these communities of being positive.

“It was just like, ‘You’ve got to be slim, you’ve got to be fit, you’ve got to be a housewife whilst also being a mother.’ Those kind of more old-fashioned things.

“So, I think it’s interesting looking at how it was for women, for new mothers, from the 80s lens compared to now. Definitely.”

Asked what it was like to film with a baby bump, Atack said: “I couldn’t believe that I just had Barney and then they said, ‘Sarah Stratton’s pregnant throughout this series’ so I got put back into a baby bump.

“It actually made a really good cushion for lunchtimes. I had to keep reminding myself that it was there because it was so comfy.”

Atack became a mother herself when she welcomed son Barney in 2024 with Alistair Garner.

The couple married in August 2026 and had a second ceremony in Spain in September.

Rivals Season Two returns with a three-episode premiere on November 11 on Disney+ in the UK.