A star of hit Netflix series Sex Education has revealed that she has banned her children from watching the show, despite acknowledging its usefulness in teaching teenagers about sex.
Gillian Anderson plays Dr Jean Milburn (assassination therapist) on the popular series, which is full of many raunchy antics.
And speaking on the Radio Times podcast, the 53-year-old revealed that despite the success of the show, she doesn’t want her children to watch it.
“But I have to say, I am living happily in the denial that my children do not watch the show”She confessed.
“I hope they haven’t. When it first came out I told them they weren’t allowed to.
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“I have no control over what they do at their friends’ houses. I’ve no control over what their friends show them.
“I have had the conversations with them about certain aspects of the show, and also the importance of certain aspects of the show and conversations that aren’t usually had on television that are vital for young people to hear.”
Podcast host Jane Garvey asked Gillian whether she felt the show had provided awkward parents with an excuse not to broach the difficult subject of sex education with their own teenage children.
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Gillian agreed, admitting that despite her character’s frank conversations with her son on sex, she struggles to have the same open discussions with her own children.
“They don’t want to talk to you, and it’s embarrassing and you end up saying things that you think afterwards, ‘why did I say that?’ It’s an impossible lose-lose situation,” She continued.
“So I’m not sure if them watching this show is everything that they need to know or necessarily even should know, and I don’t think by any stretch it’s a substitute.
(Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
“In my own experience, I think they need to know that even if it’s awkward they can come, and it’s a safe environment to come and say anything they need to say,
“Unless we extend that safety net to them, they’re not going to know that.”
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