Courteney Cox: 'I could use some Botox right now' Some people were offended by a show about cougars," she explains. 'Personally, I didn't have a problem with it. I thought sexually it was pretty bold and out there; I liked that, but to appeal to the masses the focus had to shift, so now it's not about my life with younger men, it's my life with friends. Cox is an executive producer on the show as well as the lead. Dressed in black Dolce & Gabbana trousers, an Isabel Marant jacket and a dark shirt, complete with perfectly polished burgundy fingernails, she looks more Hollywood executive than carefree actress. At 47, she's embarking on a new career, as a director. Her latest project is a television film called Tall Hot Blonde, a true story about an internet romance that led to murder, for which pre-production began today - hence the flurried phone call. I love it. Love it," she says. 'If I thought producing a 21-minute sitcom like Cougar Town was stressful, it's peanuts compared to this. After a decade in Friends, earning a million dollars per episode for the last two series, she surely can't need to work. Actually, I do," she says. 'I don't know what else I'd do with myself otherwise. She laughs, adding that she'd probably be opening the wine bottle at lunchtime instead of dinner. I hate shopping. I'm not a housewife in any way. I mean what am I going to do? Cougar Town means a great deal to her. It would be great to have a series that stood the test of time and was able to stay on air," she says. 'We're doing well. Usually if a show doesn't work, you're off the air in six episodes - and we're into our third season. But it's not a huge hit yet and we need to take it to the next level. I mean, Friends is still on the air here in the US. I'm just starting to watch it again because my daughter likes to watch it, and I'm looking at it and thinking, "That's just hysterical." It was such a great show. It would be great for Cougar Town to stand that test of time. Does she miss Friends? I miss the people," she says emphatically. 'But I love what I'm doing now. I'm more involved. Back then I just showed up and did my best, but I wasn't producing. She pauses. It was the greatest job in the world, of course. I mean, how lucky were all of us? Friends was an instant hit from the moment it arrived on our screens in 1994. But such success made it difficult for Cox to move on. She watched her co-stars progress to film roles but was nervous to follow suit. Friends was such a benchmark of television success that I shied away from trying anything else," she explains. I felt as if people would say, "She was supposed to be good on that show, what happened to her?"" Cox was the only one of the Friends leads never to be nominated for an Emmy - something that perhaps contributed to her lack of confidence. Another sitcom, Dirt, in which she played a tabloid magazine editor, proved to be short lived. She went on to be nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in Cougar Town, in 2009. 'I wish I didn't care about stuff like that, but I do," she admits. Upbeat and plain-speaking, Cox seems to have weathered such career vicissitudes with the same dignity that she has her marriage break-up. I love David more than anything in the world," she says. 'We always had a huge fondness for each other, but sometimes if you don't catch things you can end up leading separate lives. She pauses, pushing a tendril of her long dark hair behind her ear, and hesitating for a second, uncertain of how much detail to give about a marriage that began when the couple met on the set of the horror film Scream in 1996 (they made Scream 4 shortly before their break-up). Courteney was seven years David's senior and cast as the grown-up in the partnership. They had a daughter, Coco, in 2004, and also launched the production company Coquette Productions, which created Cougar Town. After they separated, Arquette made life uncomfortable for Cox by discussing their sex life so publicly that onlookers could only wince. He told the radio DJ Howard Stern that the couple hadn't been intimate for months and that he had cried the first time he slept with another woman. But after his stint in rehab for alcohol problems and depression, the couple became friends again, enough to continue working together. Arquette even makes an appearance in the series finale of Cougar Town. The thing is we were working together so we thought we were seeing each other all the time," Cox explains. 'But we weren't really dealing with what needed to be dealt with, which was how to stay married and be true intimate partners. 'Now we're separated we're able to talk about all our resentments and the things we should have listened to each other on. We kind of know where it went wrong, and how we felt ourselves drifting apart. So now we have this really great, open relationship. We speak to each other all the time; if we don't see each other in a week it's a big deal. And we're better parents to Coco. We're more patient with each other. Cox recently said that she has been celibate since her marriage ended, despite rumours linking her with her Cougar Town co-stars Brian Van Holt and Josh Hoptkins. Arquette is now dating the Entertainment Tonight reporter Christina McLarty. Does she think that they might get back together? Who knows what will happen," she says, looking genuinely uncertain. 'We're not divorced, and I suppose at some point we will be, but the reason I say, "Never say never," is because when my dad was dying he regretted not being with my mum, whom he divorced when I was 10. 'All I know is we're always going to love each other and whoever else comes into our lives will know that our relationship is extremely close, and that has to be accepted. We've both talked about that. She laughs briefly. 'We're not your typical broken-up couple. Born and raised in Alabama, the youngest of four children of a businessman and a housewife, Cox believes her parents" divorce when she was 10 made her stronger. In some ways I grew up faster. We didn't have much money so I got a job when I was 13. I learnt to take care of myself. Later she signed up to study architecture at college in Washington, but never completed the course, opting to pursue a career in modelling and acting. One of her earliest breaks was appearing in Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark video. Small television roles followed, such as in the sitcom Family Ties, and shortly before her debut in Friends she appeared with Jim Carrey in the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. I kind of fell into acting," she says. It was never something I knew I had in me, but I got to learn on the job, which I feel very lucky about. Ever mindful of her own background, she is adamant that seven-year-old Coco's life won't be affected by her parents" separation. 'She's got such a robust personality," she says, playing me a voicemail from Coco on her phone. 'She's really quirky - a perfect combination of me and David. She relishes being a parent. 'I'm probably not as good a disciplinarian as David, but I relate to her emotions. Mind you, I'm frightened of the teen years," she adds. 'Coco's got a very strong will, and I'm a little afraid of that. She sips on a glass of iced tea and marvels at what the caffeine content will do for her business meeting later this afternoon. She's obviously a woman who takes good care of herself. You can see it in her fresh complexion, which is almost devoid of wrinkles, and in the handful of vitamin pills that she produces from her pocket, and shows off like a magician. I am an absolute guinea pig for anything that will keep me feeling good," she says, laughing. 'If someone says, "You should try apple stem cells," guess who'll be putting them on her face the next day. Look, I'm close to 50. Getting older isn't easy for anybody. Especially here in Los Angeles. So let's be clear: looking youthful is something I do a lot of research on. Man, I could use some Botox right now. Although she once said she didn't like it at all, she tells me that she has no doubts about the value of Botox. She uses it when she's acting, rather than working behind the camera. She also stays out of the sun, sleeps a lot and exercises to stay in shape. 'I'm kind of lucky in that I can eat more than most girls, but I try to stay on a low-carb diet. I eat a lot of steak," she says. Does she worry about Hollywood's notorious ageism? 'I'm just hoping Cougar Town will be around for a while," she says. 'Otherwise, oh my God, I'll have to start all over..." She feigns more comic shivers. In spite of confessing to being lonely, Cox paints a picture of her life post-separation as anything but empty. She invested most of the money she made from Friends into property, and says her biggest passion away from her daughter and the television cameras is interior design. Her Malibu home was featured in Elle Decor magazine recently, something she's proud of. 'I'm a putterer," she explains. I love architecture and design. Where I live is very important to me. She also entertains and her Sunday lunches are legendary. 'When I was growing up I used to go over to my grandmom's house and I'd meet with about 21 first cousins for dinner at five. That's the kind of thing I do. I have friends over, people I haven't seen. She's still close to her mother, also named Courteney, who recently remarried for the third time at the age of 76. And girl friends, in particular, are essential. Most famously, she remains a best friend of Jennifer Aniston, her Friends co-star. She won't comment on rumours that Aniston is to marry the actor Justin Theroux, but says they make a great couple. Jennifer and I are good communicators. There's nothing we wouldn't share. That's what makes a good friendship. But all three of us girls on Friends were close. Every single day for the 10 years that show was on we'd have lunch together. Maybe there were a few times when we had other plans, but most days we'd have lunch together. For a second she sighs almost wistfully at the thought. But there's no time to dwell on the past. She has to be at her next meeting, and now her phone's ringing... The tornado begins to whirl once more. The third series of Cougar Town is at 8.30pm on Fridays on Sky Living HD, and is available on the move with Sky Go Follow Telegraph TV on Twitter