All Creatures Great and Small star makes admission as she addresses chemistry with on-screen husband

All Creatures Great and Small star Rachel Shenton has revealed the chemistry she shares with her on-screen husband.

Rachel plays Helen Herriot on the Channel 5 period drama, alongside Nicholas Ralph - who plays James Herriot. The pair have been working together for five years - and five series now - and Rachel has joked about how well they get along.

Explaining how their friendship has blossomed off camera, giving them the perfect on-screen chemistry for playing husband and wife, Rachel joked that she "couldn't stand" Nicholas - as they opened up about their bond.

Rachel joked to Hello!: "We actually can't stand each other so it's like the best bit of acting. No, I think what happens after five years is that I know all of Nick's jokes – I know they're coming, and I thought they were hilarious for the first two seasons, not so much now!

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"No, it's good. It's just always so lovely to come back. And it's just a little luxury to get to play the same character for five seasons because you get to deepen the relationships with all of the cast, and we spend so much time together. We all know each other so well now and that can only help with what we're trying to portray, which is people that have lived together for years. It honestly sounds so cheesy but we're all really excited when we get to work together again and hang out. It's good fun."

Nicholas described their friendship has an "absolute treat", having worked together for five years.

"It's been half a decade, so it's a long, long time and what an absolute treat it's been. We've definitely got a shorthand sometimes and inside jokes, maybe to the annoyance of people around us or the directors!" he added.

Rachel also previously heaped praise on her co-star Imogen Clawson, who plays Jenny on the show.

She said: "We also see that Helen's sister, Jenny, has grown up quite a lot this series and is a little bit more independent. She has grown. Imogen, as a girl, is now... wow, she's like a woman, you know.

"She's so full of life. She's got such a colourful interior world. I love going out with her. We always catch up at the start of the series, go to Nando's or something, and she debriefs me on everything that's going on in her life."

*All Creatures Great And Small series one to five are available on My5 now.