Gillian Anderson is “much closer” to her X-Files co-star David Duchovny since the pair reprized their FBI roles for a reboot series.

Actress Gillian Anderson took some time to adjust to how her X-Files character Dana Scully had aged when she reprised the role.

The 47-year-old star played the FBI agent from 1993 to 2002, and is now portraying the character again for a rebooted six-part series. While Gillian was pleased to see Dana reunited with her FBI partner Fox Mulder (played by David Duchovny), she needed to adjust to how much time had passed.

“It felt very good to step back into her shoes – and clothes,” she told Britain’s OK! magazine. “But it took some time for me to feel comfortable with this older version of her. My mind was still locked into her younger self. I had to approach her differently and reflect that she’d been on another kind of journey since working with Mulder. A lot had changed in both their lives.”

Gillian admits it took her some time to agree to take part in the reboot, with the show’s creator Chris Carter having to work hard to show her the time was right. Despite her initial reservations, she now has no regrets about her decision.

“I didn’t know if I had the enthusiasm or capacity to revive her,” Gillian admitted. “It took Chris a few conversations to finally convince me, but working with David again has made me feel very happy about going back. It was the right time.

“At first I thought, there’s no way in hell I want to do this again. But everyone kept telling me it would be fun and after a while I just said: ‘Oh, what the heck! Let’s do it!’”

Gillian says her relationship with David has evolved a great deal since they first worked together. Although it has been years since they were last on set, the actress insists they have never got along better.

“David and I are a lot closer today than we ever were doing the series or the films,” Gillian explained. “We’re both a little older have a little more perspective that probably comes from being parents and going through different struggles in our lives. Now we see that it’s easier to support each other and enjoy our friendship.”