 WITH her tiny frame and boundless energy, you'd never think that actress Anna Friel has just given birth to her first baby. Not only that, the 29-year-old star shot her new movie, Goal!, during her pregnancy and is back at work just two months after giving birth to baby Gracie.
However, the hard-working star, looking stunning in a bright red '50s-style dress, insists looks can be deceiving. "If you'd have seen me half an hour ago, you might have a different view of me," she says with a laugh. "I had just breastfed Gracie and it leaves you feeling . . ." she sighs heavily and flops back in her chair. "Then I had to come here and talk and I was thinking 'I can't, I've got nothing to say. I feel too weak'. But you've got to get yourself together and just do it." The birth of Gracie, with her 42-year-old partner, actor David Thewlis, was a poignant event for Anna, who suffers from endometriosis and was warned by doctors that she might never be able to have children. But though she's clearly besotted with her new bundle of joy, the former Brookside actress has no intention of being a stay-at-home mum. "I think if you leave too long a gap before going back to work you're in danger of your whole head being filled with bunny rabbits and pink," she laughs. "I've got a great man by my side to help me and a great au-pair. I didn't exercise for the first six weeks but I'm starting to get back into shape and taking every day as it comes and managing it day by day." Little Gracie has already had a taste of the showbusiness world - forming an enviable bond with none other than Billy Connolly. "He has a week of games up in Scotland and we go every year," explains Anna. "He got really attached to her, she sat on his knee and he sang along to her." | 
