Copyright hellomagazine
One of the favourites for this year's Glitterball trophy on Strictly Come Dancing is former Doctor Who actress Alex Kingston, who has topped the leaderboard twice already this year. Part of the star's support network who will be cheering her on is her daughter, Salome Violetta Haertel, who she shares with her ex-husband, Florian Haertel. The pair became parents to their daughter on 28 March 2001, with an announcement published in Variety reading: "Alex Kingston and Florian Haertel, a girl, Salome Violetta Haertel, March 28, Santa Monica. Mother's an actress; father's a freelance journalist." Before competing on Strictly, Alex was famous for her acting roles in major shows, including ER, A Discovery of Witches and Doctor Who, where she played Professor River Song, one of the show's most iconic characters. The star's daughter briefly followed her into the acting world, and played the same role as her mother, appearing as a young girl called Rachel in the podcast series, The Diary of River Song, between 2016 and 2021. This wasn't Salome's only on-screen appearance, with the actress starting young, appearing alongside her mother as a baby in an episode of ER. Although Salome hasn't had many acting roles since The Diary of River Song, her Instagram bio confirms that she is still in the entertainment industry, tagging the British School of Acting and Impulse Model Management. Speaking to The Sunday Post about her daughter's acting talent, Alex said: "My daughter was in my belly on ER then played the role of our baby girl Ella Greene. She's secretly always had the desire to act, but I was always adamant that she finished her education first. Salome plays a character who River Song meets up with occasionally and they have adventures together. Working with my daughter has been terrific fun. I am super-impressed with her. She is incredibly professional." However, it wasn't easy for Alex to get pregnant with her daughter. She previously admitted: "I went through about 13 rounds of IVF before I got pregnant with Salome, it was very tough. You are so desperate, you don't really understand what the long-term side-effects can be." And in 2009, People reports that she confessed about missing out on a bond with Salome due to her acting career. "I still feel like I am trying to claw my way through all of that loss and establish a strong bond with my daughter — but I will never have the bond that my husband has with her, because he's never away from home," she admitted. "I missed so many things with her like Halloween, her first tooth falling out. Those things might sound trivial, but to a mother they're important." Alex and Salome do have a close relationship, and back in 2021, Salome shared a beautiful birthday tribute to her mother. In a photo taken from Salome's childhood, the youngster was seen with her hair in pigtails while Alex looked adoringly on at her young girl. "Happy birthday, thank you for all the adventures, you're my favorite fairy," she captioned the image.
