Sheridan Smith's son Billy has helped heal her grief over death of her dad
Sheridan Smith has explained that baby son Billy has helped her enjoy the festive period again after it became tinged with sadness due to the sad death of her dad four years ago
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Sheridan Smith has opened up about how son Billy has helped her heal following the heartbreaking death of her dad.
The actress welcomed him in May this year, sharing the news that she and partner Jamie Horn had had a son.
She lost her dear dad, Colin, to cancer this month four years ago, and since the Christmas period has been tinged with sadness.
"I think for the last couple of years, since my dad passed away, I didn't enjoy Christmas because it happened around that time," Sheridan explained to OK! magazine.
"But now, to be able to have it for my little boy, it's all so exciting again. I can't wait. I'm going to dress up as Fairy Christmas."
Sheridan's involved in two productions over the period, Jack and the Beanstalk: Ever After and Hansel and Gretel: Ever After, both from the mind of her close mate David Walliams.
"I can't wait for Billy to watch me on telly," she enthused, "He's amazing."
Sheridan added: "He won't remember much of [Christmas] but it doesn't matter.
"It makes you enjoy Christmas again when you've got a little one. It's infectious. I love him seeing the fairy lights."
She recently put her mind to documentary film-making, in the taboo-shattering Becoming Mum.
Sheridan sought to dispel assumptions around mothers' mental health.
"It's such a huge thing to have a baby," she told the cameras, "I would hate for the wheels to come off during pregnancy or post pregnancy.
"There are so many women out there who feel the same as me, who are just as scared as me, and we need to go and get some answers."
Welcoming Billy during the first lockdown, he arrived three and a half weeks early.
Speaking during a Q&A for Jack and the Beanstalk, she said: "We were in lockdown for eight weeks after that with no help and we hadn't had antenatal classes, so it was a bit of a scary time."
But Sheridan now assures fans that he's doing just fine.
"It was a surprise and a bit of a panic," she recalled, "and then we were in lockdown for eight weeks after that.
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