Sarah Jessica Parker felt she was being "held hostage" when she first started work on 'Sex and the City'.

Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker

The 54-year-old actress was initially reluctant to sign up for the show because she preferred the flexibility of working on stage and in movies, and once she eventually accepted her iconic role as Carrie Bradshaw, it took her some time to adjust to her new life.

Speaking to James Andrew Miller on his podcast 'Origins Chapter 5: Sex And The City: Tutus, Tete-a-Tetes, and Taxis', she said: "I panicked and I was like, 'I want to maintain my life. I like doing a few plays a year and a movie, and maybe a TV movie of the week.'

"[When I started on the show] all of a sudden it felt like somebody was holding me hostage or something or there just were these limitations which felt very suffocating."

This year marked the 20th anniversary of the show and the actress - who has children James 16, and nine-year-old twins Marion and Loretta with husband Matthew Broderick - recently admitted she can't believe it's been so long.

She said: "It's sort of hard to imagine that 20 or 21 years has passed. But, [there's been] a lot of great memories and pride in that time spent as well."

But Sarah Jessica has also admitted she doesn't think the show would be made now because of the lack of diversity with the characters.

She said: "You couldn't make it today because of the lack of diversity on screen. I personally think it would feel bizarre."

And the 'Failure to Launch' star didn't feel it would be possible to reboot the series with a new cast either as it wouldn't be the same.

She admitted: "I don't know that you could do it with a different cast. I think that's radical and interesting, but you can't pretend it's the same."