Emily Atack makes rare comments about her partner and son

Emily Atack has admitted she couldn't have a baby with anyone other than Dr Alistair Garner.

The Rivals actress, 34, has been in a relationship with scientist Alistair since 2022, and gave birth to their son Barney in June. 

Emily rarely comments on her private life but has now admitted that she feels as if she has 'won the lottery' with the little one, and added that she couldn't have gone through the 'difficult labour' with anyone but her partner.

She told HELLO! magazine: 'I couldn't ask for a better partner and Al is the only person on this earth that I could have done this with.

 'It was a very difficult birth and after 12 hours of labour I ended up having an emergency caesarean, but he was so calm.' 

The former Inbetweeners star also described Alistair as her 'literal rock' and can not picture her life with anyone else. 

She added: 'All the cliches of life become true when you fall in love and have a baby. He's my rock, but he really, literally, is my rock; I couldn't do life with anyone else but him.'

Emily had known Alistair for more than 30 years by the time they struck up a relationship, and MailOnline revealed that he is actually her auntie's stepson.

Writing in her 2019 autobiography Are We There Yet?, Emily gave clues as to why she's ended up in a relationship with Alistair, 38, because her cousins 'understand each other on a deep level.'

She says: 'Cousins are the best invention since the Game Boy. They are basically 50 per cent sibling, 50 per cent mate. You look the same but different...

'You understand each other on a deep, deep, level and you have a smidgen more social etiquette towards them than your brother or sister...

'It makes me sad for my friends who don't have that relationship with their cousins, because mine were the best friends I ever had. They are still my best friends to this day.'

Emily has a large number of cousins courtesy of the sprawling families of both her parents, actress Kate and singer father Keith Atack, who split in 2007.

Alistair hails from her mother's side, being the stepson of Kate's sister Jane who married his father Stephen Garner, who passed away in the summer of 2023, leaving Emily devastated.

The former Celebrity Juice star had kept fans up to date with the ups and downs of  her pregnancy and showcased her huge baby bump while counting down the days until she gave birth.

But when the baby boy did make an appearance, she gushed that 'all of her dreams had come true' with the new arrival.   

She wrote on Instagram: 'We have a beautiful son. Barney James Garner. All my dreams have come true.'