FORMER Cutting It star Amanda Holden is just wild about being a mum after giving birth to her first child last weekend. Now, just eight days on, daughter Lexi makes her TV drama debut, albeit hidden away in her mother's tummy on location in South Africa.

Amanda discovered she was pregnant during the early stages of filming Wild At Heart ( ITV1, Sunday, 8pm), but couldn't tell anyone for the first three months.

"It was hard. I was completely knackered but had to keep it all a secret. Once I could tell people, everyone was so sweet and considerate. As the baby started getting bigger, the weather got hotter and it did get harder. But I was followed everywhere by a man with an umbrella and a footstool. I wouldn't get that sort of treatment at home."

The new six-part Sunday night series slots into the cosy TV spot previously occupied by Heartbeat and follows the journey of a family who leave England behind for a new life in Africa.

Vet

Lancashire-raised Stephen Tompkinson plays vet Danny, a widower who has jsut married divorcee Sarah, played by Amanda. He is the father of troublesome teenager Rosie - former Corrie actress Lucy-Jo Hudson - while Sarah has two young children, Evan and Olivia.

Amanda wasn't impressed when the script called for her character to be compared to the matriarch in an elephant herd. "It wasn't the most flattering comparison I've ever encountered, especially when I felt the size of an elephant with my pregnancy bump," she laughs.

"I didn't make a fuss during filming and did pretty much everything that was required of me. I did the stunt driving, mountain climbing and whatever else I was scripted to do that wouldn't endanger the baby, because I wanted to be professional.

"Of course, once she knew, Annie, the producer, had to make some allowances because of the wild animals. But on the whole I just got on with it. After all, there are plenty of women in Third World countries who give birth and get straight back to work."

Amanda first heard about the role through her agent. "The first thing she asked me was - are you scared of lions? I reminded her that I'm a patron of the Born Free Foundation and have worked in close proximity to many big cats.

"That was one of the reasons I wanted to take the part - it sounded like my dream job. I really enjoy working with wild animals, and to work with creatures so well cared for in such a beautiful environment was wonderful."

Reserve

Sarah and Danny move with their children to start up a game reserve. "Sarah gets stuck in and really believes in what they are trying to achieve. She doesn't care that they are just a family from Bristol with no experience of the African bush. She just goes for it. I'm just like her in that respect. Nothing would faze me, so I've really enjoyed playing her."

Stephen wanted the job as soon as he read the script. "My dad says that from as young as he can remember, I never had any fear of animals. I've always gravitated towards them and had the same response back," he explains.

"Before we started filming I had no real idea of how much interaction we would have with the wild animals, but it takes your breath away and you feel an enormous privilege to be tolerated even for a split second by them.

"Some of the footage we've got with the animals, especially with the elephants, is just magical. It was a magnificent experience and much more than I'd hoped for. I don't think there has been a family drama like this on our screens for years and years. It has been like starring in our own documentary, a once in a lifetime thing."

Johannesburg

For the first few weeks of filming, Stephen was commuting to the reserve from Johannesburg. "It was quite tough as the traffic is terrible and when you get up at 5.20am it was dark and freezing cold. But then the sun would start to come up and you would become aware of these vast landscapes. The whole place seemed to have a vibrancy and a life of its own."

Like other cast members, Leeds-born Lucy-Jo, who played Corrie's Killer Katy, hopes TV bosses will agree to a return trip. "My biggest wish is that we film another series so I can get my family to come out and meet all the amazing animals I've worked with."

But she did miss partner Alan Halsall - Weatherfield mechanic Tyrone Dobbs - while out on location for three months.

"My phone bills were huge because he was working so much that he only came over for a week. Instead we would talk every night.

"He bought me a computer and a webcam, and we emailed each other for an hour every night instead." Tweet