News | Entertainment
18 Nov 2025 16:51
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Tuppence Middleton feels "really selfish as a parent with OCD" because she struggles to cope when her daughter is ill

    The 'Downton Abbey' star has been battling obsessive-compulsive disorder - which causes uncontrollable repetitive behaviours and thoughts - for three decades, and she feels a "tremendous amount of guilt" at the measures she takes to get close to her and partner Mans Marlind's two-year-old child when offering her comfort when she's unwell, particularly because she doesn't want to pass her rituals on to the youngster


    She told MailOnline: "You feel really selfish as a parent with OCD because you want to be there and be able to cuddle them and have their face near you whenever they're ill ...

    "I would be pretty panicky to deal with my child's sick, and I would use all of those things that I had - the rubber gloves, the bleach and the masks.

    "There's a tremendous amount of guilt doing that, however, because I don't want to pass on those behaviours to her.

    "But at the same time, that's your biggest fear to be that close to someone so it's really complicated as a thought process."

    The 38-year-old actress also revealed she got "really anxious" when she had an on-screen love interest and would repeatedly question the actors she had to kiss to make sure they were not ill.

    She admitted: "I asked them, even if they looked tired and pale, because it was five in the morning when we were filming, and I was like, 'Do you feel okay? How do you feel? Is it in your stomach?'

    "But now I play less of those love interest roles so it's less of a problem."

    However, the 'Fisherman's Friends' actress now feels comfortable telling co-stars about "this particular anxiety".

    She said: "But now I feel more able to speak to my co-star and say, I have this particular anxiety and if at any point you or anyone in your family, someone that you are close to, gets a vomiting bug you have to tell me, please, because I have this huge anxiety around it.

    "That was really difficult and I found that job quite anxiety-inducing."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     17 Nov: Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth raises questions about assault charges and British tabloid ethics
     16 Nov: Kim Kardashian has branded a group of psychics "pathological liars"
     16 Nov: The Jonas Brothers do a "healthy" amount of "bullying" one another
     16 Nov: Aaron Paul doesn't use his phone in front of his children
     16 Nov: Prince William has implored young people to wear a poppy on Remembrance Day
     16 Nov: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, joked she was "a bit rusty" on her return to acting
     16 Nov: Paris Jackson has been left with a perforated septum due to drug use
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    New Zealand Rugby are pushing an every-game-counts mindset to showcase the benefits of the new Nations Championship format More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    The Kiwi dollar is the weakest compared to Australia in 12 years - trading at just 87 Aussie cents More...



     Today's News

    Business:
    The Kiwi dollar is the weakest compared to Australia in 12 years - trading at just 87 Aussie cents 16:17

    National:
    Tutankhamun was decapitated 100 years ago – why the excavation is a great shame instead of a triumph 16:07

    Politics:
    David Seymour has pulled out an extreme label for the Green Party - over its mining policy 15:27

    Golf:
    The New Zealand Golf Open's confirmed the big local names for its 105th edition in February 14:57

    International:
    Donald Trump says he will sign bill to release Epstein files if it passes Congress 14:17

    National:
    Australians are markedly more worried about the US, still wary about China: new poll 14:17

    Accident and Emergency:
    The search for a missing fisherman is being scaled back in Northland - after one body was found on Saturday 14:07

    Soccer:
    The number of countries qualified for the Football World Cup is up to 34 - after Germany and the Netherlands booked their places at next year's tournament 13:47

    Politics:
    Nearly one in five living in New Zealand, identify as Maori 13:27

    National:
    Five key issues at the UN climate summit in Brazil – and why they matter to you and the planet 13:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd