Kerry Washington isn't the "same person" she was six years ago

She said: "I'm not the same person I was five or six years ago - but neither is Olivia. So, it's fun to keep calibrating the difference between who she is and who I am."

And the mother-of-two - who has son Caleb, seven months, and three-year-old daughter Isabelle, with her husband Nnamdi Asomugha - says her 'Scandal' family has always been very supportive of her pregnancies.

She added: "I learned in my first pregnancy that our fans' devotion allows them to look past bigger and bigger coats and purses to stay committed to the story. I was less terrified the second time around that this person with a slightly fuller face could still be Olivia Pope.

"I'm really lucky to work in an environment where families are supported and encouraged. I was able to lean on the writers and directors and cinematographers and other cast members. The show is not about me. It's about a family of artists and artisans who come together, so I'm grateful to everyone in our scandal family for making it work."

Kerry has played Olivia on the ABC show for six years and doesn't find television acting "restrictive" because of the "inventive and phenomenal" writers on the show.

She told People magazine: "Television can feel restricting to some actors, but I'm lucky because our writers remain inventive and they are incredible, phenomenal risk takers. I get to benefit from always being surprised by Olivia's huge journey and the fact that she really is having an evolution."