Soap Opera Digest: Jackie is overly protective of her son, Nick. Are you like that with your own children?
Lesley-Anne Down: I know when to get tough. I remember when my son, Jack, was 9 or 10 and he pointed his BB gun at a neighbor's window and shot it. Jack has always been a pretty honest little boy, and three or four days later, he told me what he had done. After I called the neighbor, I contacted the police and asked them to come to the house so they could teach Jack a lesson. They gave me such a compliment. They said, "If more mothers were like you, we would not have the crime in this country with our youth that we do." So, they turned up at the house and played good cop, bad cop. It was the worst thing I had ever been through in my whole life.

Digest: What happened?
Down: I sat in the kitchen while they took Jack into his bedroom to talk to him. I was shaking all over. It was all I could do not to rush in there and save him. When Jack came out of his room, his eyes were like the proverbial two pissholes in the snow, he had been sobbing so much. The big policeman said, "What do you say to your mother?" And he said, "Mom, I'm so, so, so sorry. I will never, ever do it again." And he didn't. He's 21 now and such a great kid.

Digest: If Nick had done something like that when he was a child, you don't think Jackie would have held him accountable?
Down: I don't think Jackie would have ever done anything like that for her child. I don't think she would have put Nicky in that kind of situation — ever. I think she would have done everything not to have the police come around and get involved. I think Jackie would have just said, "You're so naughty."

Digest: Are you as good at keeping secrets as Jackie is?
Down: I'm really bad at keeping secrets. If you tell me something, I would be on the phone before you left the room. Actually, I don't think Jackie is that good at keeping secrets. I think what happened is she got one step ahead. We've all been in that situation where something happens and that moment is pulled away from. Then, you think, "I'll wait for another five minutes or an hour or tomorrow." It just becomes a roller coaster that won't stop.

Digest: What do you have in common with Jackie?
Down: We're both very independent women who adore their careers. Jackie has done quite well on her own and even though she loves being Massimo's wife, their marriage doesn't define her She can get by quite well on her own. My husband goes out of town on business for extended periods and though I miss him terribly, life still goes on. I have a house, a young son and dogs to take care of. I don't have live-in help, but I do have a lady who comes in to clean and that's it. There's always so much to be done at home, but I love it.

Digest: Jackie lives in a stately mansion. What is your house like?
Down: I live in a very LEAVE IT TO BEAVER neighborhood, which is absolutely the best place in the entire world. I always wanted to live in this type of little community, but my husband had never wanted to because he said it's too tract-y for him. He's just an American snob, what can I tell you? I told him, "Well, lucky that you were brought up in housing tracts, but I wasn't. I was brought up in a bloody apartment." I mean, it truly is a do-you-want-a-cup-of-sugar neighborhood. The kids run up and down the street, it's so 1950s. With all that's going on in the world now, it just seems too lucky to be true. So, it's quite lovely here.