Silent Witness star Emilia Fox is currently loved-up with her TV producer beau, but the actress was previously married to a BAFTA winning actor known for roles in shows such as The Crown
Having joined the cast of Silent Witness in 2004, fans of the show may be familiar with Emilia Fox’s role on-screen as Dr Nikki Alexander – though they may know less about her life away from TV screens.
With the first series of the BBC show debuting back in 1996, Silent Witness has made history as the longest-running crime drama currently airing on TV. At present, the show is drawing its 28th series to a close with a thrilling two-part finale that sees Emilia’s character Nikki attempt to track down a suspect of a shooting while, away from work, finding time to navigate the complexities that come with wedding planning.
Like her character Nikki, the 50-year-old actress is known for her amazing work ethic and has appeared in a string of shows and films, such as Merlin, an adaption of Pride and Prejudice and Sky series Delicious. She also has a degree from Oxford University where she read English.
Away from the screens, Emilia is currently in a relationship with TV producer Jonathan Stadlen and the pair have been linked since 2021. In the past Emilia has revealed that she and Jonathan tell each other how much they love each other and added that they feel like they’re married, despite not officially being so.
“We very much feel like we are married, but we’re not actually married,” she told Yours Magazine. “We choose to marry each other every day; not in an official capacity, but by choice of being with each other. So it’s a daily marriage of love.”
Expanding on this in another interview, the TV star added how the sweet gesture continued to feel “very romantic” for her and Jonathan. “Just saying we love each other each day has been enough for us in this moment. It has felt very romantic because there’s a choice every day to go, ‘Yes, I really want to marry you today,’” she said to Woman&Home.
“He asks me in all different places and at different times. Sometimes when we wake up, sometimes it’s at lunchtime, sometimes on bended knee!”
Meanwhile Emilia, who shares daughter Rose with actor Jeremy Gilley, shone a light on her family life as she described her ideal Sunday afternoon. “Jonathan has a boat, so we might go rowing on the Thames with Rose and all the dogs,” she told The Guardian in 2023.
“If my parents are in town it’s a good time to see them. Sunday afternoons are often about Rose’s homework, but I do feel like a nag.”
Prior to her relationship with Jonathan, the actress was married to fellow actor Jared Harris. Known for roles in shows including Mad Men and The Crown, Jared has also won a BAFTA for his appearance in HBO miniseries Chernobyl. The pair tied the knot in Dorset in 2005 during a romantic ceremony which saw a cloud of butterflies released to mark the occasion.
Sadly things weren’t to be for the couple and they separated three years later before getting divorced in 2010. Following their split, Emilia opened up about her relationship with Jared, who was 13 years older than her, during an interview with MailOnline where she explained that their age had nothing to do with it.
“The truth is, it’s very difficult to maintain a relationship when you’re living apart from each other and you’ve both got careers that depend upon being in different countries. I was doing Silent Witness in England for seven or nine months of the year, and Jared’s career was flourishing in America,” she said.
During a particularly emotional moment of the interview, the Silent Witness star revealed that she’d experienced a miscarriage and candidly shared how she thought she “didn’t explore enough the impact that had” on them both as well as their relationship.
“We had been immensely happy, so the unhappiness was measured against this incredible time together. Maybe it was because of having had the miscarriage, which really hit me a year later,” she added.
She continued: “I think it was my fault that I didn’t explore the emotional side. I thought it was like a horrible illness that you get over. I was working and I concentrated all my focus on that.”