Who is Laurence Fox? Links to Billie Piper and Emilia Fox explained, plus acting roles and Twitter details

Laurence Fox was once known for acting and taking on the persona of other people, but now he’s known for his controversial personal actions and opinions.

Most recently, he’s caused a public outcry for comments he made on GB news about a female journalist on Tuesday (26 September). Yesterday, he was suspended from GB news after making “vile and misogynist comments” about Ava Santina while talking to presenter Dan Wootton. Wooton has also been suspended from the channel as a result of the interview.

But, just exactly who is Laurence Fox? What are his connections to Billie Piper and Emilia Fox, is he married, does he have any children, who are his other family members, and what TV roles is he known for? Here’s what you need to know.

Who is Laurence Fox?

Laurence Fox, whose full name is Laurence Paul Fox, is a 45-year-old actor and musician turned political activist. He also goes by the nickname Lozza. He was born on 26 May 1978 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and began his acting career in 2001. He is the founder of the Reclaim party, a right wing populist party which was launched in 2020.

Fox was raised as an evangelical Christian. At the age of 13, he was enrolled at Harrow School, but he was expelled a few weeks before taking his A-Level exams and was unable to gain a place at any university due to a report about him from Harrow.

He worked as a gardener and in an office before he decided to follow his family into acting, and successfully auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). During his time there, he appeared in numerous student productions, including many main roles. He graduated from the prestigious drama school in 2001.

How is Laurence Fox connected to Billie Piper?

Laurence Fox was previously married to actress and singer Billie Piper, aged 41. The pair met in 2006 while performing together in a play called Treats and married the next year, on New Year’s Eve 2007, in West Sussex. The couple were not meant to be, however, and they divorced ten years after they met, in May 2016.

The former couple both admitted in separate interviews that they had argued throughout their relationship. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Fox said he “100 percent wound the f*** out of her.” In an interview with Psychologies magazine, meanwhile, Piper said: "It’s emotionally up and down – the extremities of emotion. Being in love isn’t something that goes, 'Oh, this is it then'. It’s more dramatic. It can make you feel sick and then out of control and hyper. [The rows are] usually something really stupid, often borne out of being exhausted."

Fox also told the Mirror that the divorce had taken a great emotional toll on him. He said: “The physical symptoms of trauma and suffering are profound panic attacks for an extended period of time, and I’ve never had a panic attack in my life before.

“I haven’t slept for six months, even with sleeping pills. I go to bed . . . and just lie awake, sleeping two or three hours. My mind’s whirring round." He added: “I think mental health is much undiscussed in this country, men especially are scared of it, but it’s good to talk about feelings. There’s only so much room in the cupboard to store them up.”

How is Laurence Fox connected to Emilia Fox?

Laurence is the cousin of actress Emilia Fox, whose full name is Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox. Emilia, aged 49, is best known for her roles in the film The Pianist (2002) and the TV show Silent Witness (2004 to present)

Who else is in Laurence Fox’s family?

Laurence is part of the Fox family, who are well-known in the entertainment industry as many members from it have had successful careers in the arts.

Laurence was born to parents Mary Elizabeth Piper and BAFTA award-winning actor James Fox. Piper, who coincidentally has the same maiden name as his ex-wife, died in 2020 and James is now 84-years-old. His paternal grandfather was talent agent Robin Fox and his paternal grandmother was actress Angela Worthington, whose father was playwright Frederick Lonsdale.

He has two older brothers named Tom and Robin, a younger sister named Lydia, and also a younger brother named Jack. Robin is a film producer, while Lydia, 44, and Jack, 38, are actors; Lydia is also married to comedian and filmmaker Richard Ayoade.

The talents don’t stop there for the Fox family, Laurence’s uncles are actor Edward Fox and producer Robert Fox. He is also the cousin of actor Freddie Fox, age 34, who is the sister of Emilia Fox. They are both the children of his uncle Edward.

Speaking about Laurence’s controversial views, Emilia once told The Times: "Laurence is my cousin, he's family and I love my family. I think he'd be the first to advocate that people can have different opinions on things. We've had very different life experiences and Laurence’s political life is nothing to do with my relationship with him. We've had some amazing times together and we’ve been very mutually supportive of our personal lives."

Is Laurence Fox married?

Laurence Fox is not married. He was due to marry Arabella Fleetwood Neagle this year, but he split from his fiancée in June. Fox had announced his engagement to this 29-year-old school teacher and heiress in January 2022, but the relationship had reportedly “ran out of steam”, according to his friends.

Fox had announced his intention to marry his former partner by placing an advert in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, under the forthcoming marriages section, which read: “The engagement is announced between Laurence Paul Fox and Arabella May Fleetwood Neagle.”

Does Laurence Fox have children?

Fox has two children. He shares sons Winston James and Eugene Pip with his ex-wife, Piper. Winston was born on 21 October 2008, which means he is currently 14-years-old but will shortly turn 15. Eugene was born on 5 April 2012, which means he is now aged 11.

What TV shows has Laurence Fox been in?

Fox is best known for his long standing role as DI James Hathaway in TV series Inspector Lewis (2006 to 2015). He’s also acted in other TV series including Wired (2008), Victoria (2019), and White Lines (2020).

What are Laurence Fox’s Twitter details?

An active Twitter user, Fox often uses the social media platform, which was renamed X earlier this year, to air his often opposing views. He currently has over 411,000 followers. His page is called @LozzaFox.