The demands of parenthood often require mothers to become adept at multitasking.
However, Hollywood star Karen Gillan has taken that skill to the next level after revealing she wrote a screenplay while caring for her newborn daughter.
The Guardians of the Galaxy star, 37, and her American husband Nick Kocher, 38, welcomed the arrival of baby Clementine last December.
Now, in an insight into how she balances work and family life, the Scots actress revealed she wrote a horror script in the weeks following her daughter’s birth as she found the tot would often only sleep in her arms.
Ms Gillan said: ‘I’ve written a pilot for television in that haze because I didn’t figure out how to put the baby into the crib so it was all contact naps.
‘So, I was like “what can I do right now to pass the time? I know I’ll create something”. I was trying to type and then I was doing it on my phone and then I was like “I’ll just have it in my head and then get it out once the baby is not on me”.’
Discussing the project, she said: ‘It is probably going to be the biggest undertaking of my life and I can’t really talk about it right now but it is in the horror space. It will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.’
The former Doctor Who star, who lives in Los Angeles, also spoke of how odd she finds it to think that her daughter will have an American accent. ‘She’s going to be like “Hey mom” and I’ll be like “It’s mum”,’ she said.
Karen Gillan has said she wrote a pilot for a horror show while caring for her newborn
Ms Gillan cuddles her daughter Clementine
Guardian of the Galaxy star Gillan said she started writing in the ‘haze’ of looking after her baby
Ms Gillan also touched on how her fame affects daily life during the chat with Virgin Radio host Ryan Tubridy.
Asked if she can move around London without being recognised, she said: ‘I can.’
However, she added: ‘I can’t get round my hometown – Inverness – because that’s a smaller place and people are much more aware of me. But I get around New York City fine.’
Also, when Tubridy suggested she was ‘glamorous,’ Ms Gillan responded with surprise, saying: ‘I just don’t view myself that way.’