Sophie Turner says she was "widely misquoted" after she made headlines for speaking about the "struggle" of life as a single mother

She has now said her quote given to the Sunday Times about the fight involved in being a single mother wasn't about her personal life - but a reference to the character of Joan she plays in her new ITV series.

She said on her Instagram Stories about the storm over her remark: "I was talking about the character of Joan that I play and was not referring to myself, which is obvious from the original interview.

"I'm very fortunate person needs to have a lot of help around me, which is not the case for a lot of people.

"I applaud all single mothers doing it alone."

Sophie filmed her latest TV drama 'Joan' in the wake of her split from Joe and she admitted portraying single mother and career criminal Joan Hannington in the true story gave her a "lot of strength".

She had told the Times about how she related to the character she plays: "If I hadn't been a mother, I don't know if I would have been able to bring the same energy that I did into it.

"It's such a struggle being a single mother."

She added about the character's approach to being a parent: "Joan doesn't go about it in the best way... but it is amazing to see her really fighting for her daughter.

"It's also really important for kids really important for kids to see just how hard parents work for them."

Sophie and Joe underwent a "successful" mediation the month after he filed for divorce and reached a temporary agreement, but the actress Turner filed to "reactivate" their case in March.

She told Vogue in June as their divorce proceedings continued: "I'm confident that we can figure it out.

"Joe is a great father to our children and that's all that I can ask for."