Emmerdale star: It's hard work being a single mum

Emmerdale actress Sammy Winward today spoke of the pressures of balancing soap stardom and being a young single mother.

The 20-year-old, who plays Katie Sugden in the ITV programme, admitted caring for her daughter Mia – who recently turned one – was “hard work”.

But she said returning to Emmerdale after giving birth had been “brilliant”, adding that she was determined not to be a “stay-at-home mum”.

The actress, who separated from Mia’s father – Birmingham City footballer David Dunn – when her daughter was a few months’ old, said there were lots of “positives” to being a young mother.

“When she’s 16 I’ll only be 35, so we can go out on the town together. Well, I hope so. Here’s me thinking I’ll be a dead cool mum, but she’ll probably think I’m a complete geek,” she told the Sunday Mirror’s Celebs on Sunday magazine.

She added that her own mother had been “great” by helping to look after Mia so she could continue playing Katie and have nights out.

But she insisted she was not currently looking for another man.

“There’s no man in my life at the moment, and I’m not on the look-out. I’m just enjoying being a mum,” she said.