Hollyoaks' Jessica: We're all in awe of Strictly star Ashley

Ashley Taylor Dawson's Hollyoaks co-star Jessica Fox has said she is in awe of her friend for managing to juggle work, Strictly Come Dancing and being a new dad.

Jessica plays Nancy Osbourne, the estranged wife of Ashley's character Darren in the Channel 4 soap, and shared how impressed she was with his busy schedule.

She said: "He's doing amazingly. I'm on coffee duty, so my job is to bring a constant round of coffees for Ashley, but I'm very proud of him, I think we all are.

"I don't know how he does it, he comes into work first thing in the morning, works his socks off all day, does interviews at lunch, then has an hour with his baby, goes training until one in the morning and then gets up and does it all again the next day. I take my hat off to him, he's doing wonderfully."

Ashley dances with professional partner Ola Jordan on Strictly and has become one of the viewers' favourite contestants this series.

Jessica said she'd love to watch him at one of the live shows, but hadn't had the chance yet: " Not yet, there's a priority list so obviously family's got to go first."

Talking about Ashley's new baby, she said: "I haven't met Mason yet but I've seen lots of pictures of him and videos. He's a very proud dad and he's a beautiful baby."

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.