All Creatures Great and Small's Rachel Shenton details 'unscripted' Mrs Hall scene

All Creatures Great and Small star Rachel Shenton let slip that one key scene with Mrs Hall was not written in.

The 36-year-old actress had been discussing the emotional moment when she shared a hug with Mrs Hall that wasn't actually scripted on the Masterpiece Studio podcast with Nicholas Ralph - who plays her husband Jame Herriot on the fan favourite.

The British star, who is best known for playing the role of Helen Herriot on the hit Channel 5 show, explained how it just felt right to improvise the embrace. According to Rachel, the two were supposed to clink glasses but that isn't how the scene ended up panning out.

During the discussion, the clip was aired so that Rachel could comment on what it meant to her. At the time, on the programme, Rachel's character Helen was feeling isolated having switched up her life with her husband James.

The actress explained that her alter-ego was having a tough time settling in and having a case of nerves when she found comfort in Mrs Hall - played by Anna Madeley. Her words meant a lot to Helen, who was struggling to be happy with her choice.

Rachel explained on the podcast: "She [Helen] starts off and she feels great, this is new, feeling my feet a bit but it's going to be great and she's quite looking forward to it, she knows everyone, she grew up in the village, she knows them very well but then it changed to 'I'm not sure if I can do this actually'."

She went on to add: "And maybe this isn't working and there was probably a real moment of 'oh my goodness is this what it's going to be like now?' And again, I just think that's very real."

Thinking about what Helen needed in that moment, Rachel explained "she needed to hear that," and from Mrs Hall and not her husband James - who would always reassure her.

After the exchange of kind words, Mrs Hall and Helen shared a rare hug which actually wasn't part of the plan. Rachel detailed that it just felt right in the moment and was very proud of that scene.

She said: "And the hug wasn't scripted. I think a clink of glasses was scripted if I remember correctly but then we felt like a hug was right and we're glad that we did."

Meanwhile, it has recently been announced that Helen has landed herself a new role in Gladstone Girls, a six-part scripted podcast series. Not only will she star in the comedy drama but will also have a hand in the writing of the series too.

The upcoming series follows the story of female workers in the Stoke-on-Trent potteries battling to save their factories traditions from a new boss.

All Creatures Great And Small airs on Channel 5 and can be streamed via MY5.