Emilia Fox's stance on controversial cousin Laurence and awkward questions

Emilia Fox is back in a brand new series of Silent Witness tonight - but will it be as dramatic as her family?

The 47-year-old actress, who is returning to the BBC crime drama as Dr. Nikki Alexander for series 25, is the cousin of controversial former actor Laurence Fox.

Acting certainly runs in the family as her dad is Day of the Jackal actor Edward Fox, mum Joanna David has been in a number of TV shows, and her brother, uncle and two cousins are all in the same industry.

It's one of those cousins, Laurence, 43, who has found himself in hot water a number of times over the last few years for his right-wing political stance and strong anti-vaccine views.

Having made his name in Morse spin-off Lewis and appearing in shows such as Netflix's White Lines, Lawrence shifted to become an outspoken political activist and found himself clashing with anyone and everyone.

Unfortunately, it's put Emilia in a bit of a tricky position as interviewers are now always keen to hear about her stance on her cousin.

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The pair were first seen on TV together during Bear Grylls ' Mission Survive series back in 2015, where eight celebrities went deep into an unforgiving Central American rainforest for a 12-day survival odyssey.

Emilia said that doing the show was a "once in a lifetime chance" to learn about survival from someone as experienced as Grylls - and she dragged Laurence along for the ride.

Asked why he had signed up, Laurence said his cousin had given him "almost no option", explaining: "As a relatively private person, it's not something that I would ordinarily do

"Whilst having lunch with my cousin Emilia last year, I asked her what she was up to next. She mentioned Mission Survive. I won't say she forced, but let's say she gave me almost no option but to accompany her on the trip as she was having butterflies.

"A phone call was made, and here we are."

Emilia was there to support Laurence when he broke up from his ex-wife, Doctor Who star Billie Piper, after eight years of marriage in 2016.

The former couple, who have two sons Winston and Eugene together, stated that no third party was involved and they would stay on good terms for their kids.

"I have seen Loz and I love him and will be as supportive and there for him always. We are very close," said Emilia when asked about the divorce at the time.

"I think the wonderful thing about family is that we are all there for each other and always will be, through good times and bad times."

In 2019, the cousins were back on-screen together in the first seried of Celebrity Gogglebox and were a hit with viewers,

However, Laurence did not return for the second series and was replaced by Emilia's mum, Joanna David, as her cousin was worried about appearing again.

When a fan reached out to ask him if he was invited to be on the show again, he tweeted: "They did. I had to say no, as I would be worried about getting a load of grief and therefore not relaxed like last time. Never say never though!"

Laurence then hit the headlines after being "totally radicalised" by watching YouTube videos about "woke culture" and "political correctness"

In January 2020, he appeared on Question TIme and said that Meghan Markle was not a victim of racism, as well as describing an audience member who said he was a "white privileged male" as racist.

During the Covid pandemic, Laurence frequently criticised the government's response to the pandemic and called for an end to social distancing rules.

He participated in anti-lockdown protests, opposed the George Floyd protests and then in September 2020 announced he was launching his own political party.

Fox claimed the Reclaim party, which has been dubbed the "Ukip for culture", would defend freedom of speech and reform public institutions such as the BBC.

But it had a devastating impact on his acting career as he was dropped by his agent over the phone in November that year.

"I want to thank my acting agent who let me go on the phone just now for reaffirming exactly why I am doing what I’m doing," he tweeted.

"Still waiting for a single example of anything I’ve ever said or done that could ever be deemed racist. We will reclaim freedom, fairness and common sense."

His campaign for London Mayor last year was a major flop, but he still has the unwavering support of his cousin.

In an interview with The Times, Emilia said: "Laurence is my cousin, he’s family and I love my family. I think he’d be the first to advocate that people can have different opinions on things.

"We’ve had very different life experiences and Laurence’s political life is nothing to do with my relationship with him. We’ve had some amazing times together and we’ve been very mutually supportive of our personal lives."

When asked if she was 'worried' about him, Emilia said: "Why should I be worried? What are the things you are worried about? Laurence is well capable of standing on his own two feet."

Although she insisted she would not appear on his election 'battle bus', adding: "‘I wouldn’t go on anyone’s battle bus. And that’s got nothing to do with Laurence. That is just the last thing I’d ever do."

This month, Emilia was once again asked about her cousin while promoting the new series of Silent Witness.

"Laurence is my cousin. We are family," she told The Daily Mail. "I don't want to ignore that. Everyone has different opinions, that doesn't mean you have to agree with everything.

"Whatever he chooses to do in his career doesn't affect the way I feel about him as a family member and I think it's important to make that distinction."

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