As much as we love Billie Shepherd and Sam Faiers it’s their children who have us in a fit of giggles every Wednesday night.
The Essex sisters are back for series nine of The Mummy Diaries and viewers will get to see what they’ve been up to with their children during another lockdown.
One thing we love about the Faiers sisters is how they always keep it real and now in an exclusive interview with Closer they’ve opened up about what it’s really like when their children don’t want to film for the show.
Billie, mum to Nelly, six, and Arthur, three, explained, “Sometimes you get a vibe. Obviously as they’ve got older, they’re a lot more aware of the cameras.
“With Nelly, there’s never a situation where I say to her ‘come on, we need to film and do this scene,’ I don’t make it like that, we just carry on as normal and we let her get involved as and when she wants to.
“And it’s really funny because Nelly has been homeschooled and she’ll come downstairs and get involved naturally and it just makes the scene [with her] one-liners.”
The 31 year old went on to add, “Now they are now older, Nelly and Paul, it’s more about making it relaxed and not that they have to do it.
“If they don’t want to do it I just say, ‘No, they’re not here to film you darling. You can go and do your own thing’
“We’ve just moved with the times as the kids have gotten older.”
Check out: take a sneak peek inside Billie and Greg Shepherd's Essex home
Billie Faiers and Greg Shepherd's house SLIDER
1 of 36Billie and Greg's Essex home
Billie and Greg's Essex family home looks traditional from the outside. The front door has been painted a neutral grey and has a silver knocker and stained glass window.
2 of 36Entrance
How cute are Billie and Nelly in their matching dressing gowns? We love this sweet selfie taken in the reflection of Billie's chic French-style mirror.
3 of 36Entrance
And the chic decor continues... Billie has filled her console table with minimalist framed prints, placed to a Jo Malone candle and room diffuser.
4 of 36Entrance
She's off! A much younger Nelly parades through Billie and Greg's tiled hallway in this adorable snap. Cute red suitcase, too.
5 of 36Hallway
Proud mum Billie couldn't resist to get a picture of Nelly on her first day of school. The Essex mum has hidden her radiators behind made-to-measure grey fittings, which she has used to display family photos in metallic frames.
6 of 36Living room
Billie and Sam pose with Arthur and Rosie propped on their hips in this family pic. Nelly's toys and Arthur's high chair - designed by his auntie, Sam - can be spotted in the background.
7 of 36Living room
Greg settles down with with daughter Nelly under a cosy blanket to watch some TV on what looks like the world's comfiest armchair.
8 of 36Living room at Christmas
Billie and Greg's Christmas looks so plush - albeit a little chaotic! We bet Nelly was thrilled with that miniature white range rover - we know we would be.
9 of 36Living room at Christmas
Billie and Nelly posed for a mummy-daughter photo in front of the tree in December 2018. Billie opted for a lavish white and gold theme for her Christmas tree.
10 of 36Living room
This is the PERFECT sofa for lazy Sundays. Billie even has personalised cushions - one for her and husband, Greg and one for Nelly and Arthur.
11 of 36Living room
Talking of personalised cushions, Nelly and Arthur have a whole bunch of their own. Arthur looks so cosy in the heap of cushions.
12 of 36Living room
This is totally the adults-only area. Even the thought of little rascals anywhere near that lush wallpaper and cream carpet makes us feel anxious...
13 of 36Living room / Play area
... But luckily with Billie and Greg's open-plan ground floor, the kids' area isn't far away. A cheeky Arthur chuckles in front of a mass of toys in the background.
14 of 36Living room / Kitchen
That's a wrap! When the family are filming for ITV's The Mummy Diaries with Sam's family, things are bound to get a little hectic - it's only right that Nelly steps in as director before things get out of control in the Faiers/Shepherd household.
15 of 36Nelly's tiny furniture
Here's a much younger Nelly looking angelic whilst eating a fruit yoghurt at her very own dining table in the kitchen.
16 of 36Nelly's tiny furniture
Nelly has her own miniature sofa - and it's even a neutral crushed velvet to match mum and dad's. Totally adorable.
17 of 36Nelly's tiny furniture
Not content with just her own sofa, Nelly has her own pink kitchen, too! The kitchen is complete with a fridge, sink, hobs oven and toaster. When can we come round for dinner?!
18 of 36Arthur's tiny furniture
Why stop at just one miniature kitchen?! Arthur has his own set, too. The head chef looks busy at work in this picture... licking the whisk... he's a pro.
19 of 36Kitchen
Fans of ITVBe's The Mummy Diaries will remember the hilarious episode when Billie's husband Greg was made to cook after bragging about his chef skills.
20 of 36Kitchen
Viewers will also remember there was a lot of confusion with cooking dinner and a rather hectic kitchen - but luckily it all worked out in the end.
21 of 36Dining table
Nelly sits at the dining table to decorate digestive biscuits. We don't know what we love more - Nelly's fluffy pom-pom hair band or the pretty Emma Bridgewater heart plate.
22 of 36Dining table
Mum Billie can be seen cracking on with some admin at the dining table in this pic, with Nelly's cute mini sofa again in the background.
23 of 36Dining table
This family sure do know how to pull off a good roast dinner - with a table set for three people, we're wondering if there's room for us to come along next time?
24 of 36Stairs
Back to the entrance hall and we have Nelly striking her best pose whilst dressed as a LOL doll. Billie's mini-me pouts in front of the stairs.
25 of 36Stairs
An adorable Arthur looks mischievous standing at the top of the stairs with striped fabric on his head. At the top of the stairs, the landing splits into two sides of the house.
26 of 36Nelly's bedroom
Wow. We want Nelly's bedroom and yes, we know we're meant to be adults. But seriously, who could resist that comfy bed and grey/pink theme?
27 of 36Master bedroom
But that doesn't stop her from getting into Billie and Greg's double bed. Comfy bed? Check. Pyjamas on? Check. Biscuit to snack on? Check. Nelly, we're totes jel.
28 of 36Master bedroom
And the apple doesn't fall far from the tree - like Nelly, mum Billie loves to get comfy under the cover with a warm brew in hand.
29 of 36Master bedroom
Billie and Arthur have a matching smile in this picture - and matching pyjamas for that matter. We need those in our life, now.
30 of 36Master bedroom
Billie shows off more of the master bedroom - and her lush outfit, of course - in this mirror selfie. The mum of two has co-ordinated the silver decor throughout her bedroom.
31 of 36Wardrobe
Nelly is playing in Dad Greg's wardrobe - sorry Nelly, we don't think any of those trousers are going to fit. We'd stick with the pink hoodie and leggings!
32 of 36Bathroom
Nelly contemplates brushing her teeth in this cute snap. Billie's plush white sink is complete with a Jo Malone hand wash and mural mirror on the wall above.
33 of 36Bathroom
Nelly plays with educational number toys whilst havin a splash in the bath. We love Billie and Greg's genius bathroom toy storage.
34 of 36Bathroom
How adorable is this snap of baby Nelly sharing a bath with mum Billie?! The couple's oldest child is a total mini-me of Billie. And CHECK OUT that TV in the background. Bathroom goals!
35 of 36Garden
Billie's garden is huge - and perfect for a competitive snow ball fight in this picturesque snowy scene. Not one to get covered in cold snow, Nelly wraps up warm in a faux-fur coat and pom-pom wooly hat.
36 of 36Garden
Billie and Greg's garden looks just as great in Summer, too. How perfect is that decking for a good old British bbq with family?!
And Sam, who is mum to Paul, five, and Rosie, three, admitted that with her son there’s “good days and bad days”.
“He loves talking and playing with the crew but when it comes to actually filming, he’s way more… I don’t know if reluctant is the right word but Rosie loves it.
“She’ll be like ‘let’s do filming,’ and she’ll put on a dress and she finds it all very fun, but you don’t make them do anything they don’t want to do”.
However the 30 year old added that usually they get involved anyway. She joked, “They end up creeping downstairs and getting involved somehow anyway”.
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In more Mummy Diaries news, Sam recently opened up about the reason she banned her son Paul from his iPad.
“We literally just took it (the iPad) off him and said out of sight out of mind. We put it in the cupboard and that was it.
"With little Paul there was this one game and he ended up being obsessed with this game and I was like, ‘I’m not doing this anymore’.”
She went on to add, “His eyes were getting sore it was ridiculous so I thought this can’t continue, so we basically went cold turkey with the iPads and they still don’t have them. The only time I would let them have them is if we were on a long journey or something.
"They don’t actually need them. I know they come in handy sometimes. I’m not anti-iPad at all. There are just points where you need to think if they’re spending too much time on it then you’ve got to nip it in the bud.”
Sam & Billie: The Mummy Diaries, Wednesdays, 9pm on ITVBe and available on ITV Hub.