‘This is the first series we see Helen in her own right’: Rachel Shenton shares why her All Creatures Great and Small character is so different to the novels in season 7

Adored around the world, All Creatures Great and Small is back on Channel 5 for season 7.

Of all the characters, Helen is a huge hit with fans. Rachel Shenton who plays James Herriot's wife in the show has revealed that for season 7, Helen will be looking different to fans than she does in the original novels on which the series is based.

During a recent TV interview on This Morning, Rachel was asked how much she leaned on the books to draw on her character.

The actress shared that she thought the original novels offered a "biased" view of Helen that she was keen to build on and diversify.

"We meet Helen through James in the books," she begins, adding, "So it's through his perspective - it's his voice really when talking about her."

Rachel then shares that season 7 moves away from that perspective to really give the character her own voice. "This is the first series we see her [Helen] in her own right, as a multi-faceted character," she shares.

She explains that by only ever previously seeing Helen through James, "There's always a biased version of her." To develop the character and add more depth to her, Rachel needed to find out more about the real Helen from others who knew her that weren't James.

For this, she turned to his children, Jim and Rosie. The actress says "Jim and Rosie have just been brilliant," revealing that through the anecdotes they've given her about their mother, a "playfulness" they described her as having has made it into the show and moved Helen forward.

Delving into what to expect from the all-new episodes, Rachel shares that as well as her character feeling a little different, the entire show takes on a new lease of life as the timeline moves away from wartime.

"We're into 1946 now, and it feels hopeful and exciting, more than we've ever felt before," she says.

She continues, "We're coming through the dark clouds and we can look forward, so that feels like All Creatures of old." The show first aired with a different cast between 1978-1990, and capturing the essence of the original feels exciting.

The actress also spoke about why she believes audiences identify with the show so much, despite it being set in quite different era.

"When it's about those core qualities of love and community, they don't go out of date," she says, adding, "That's never going to not feel relevant."

There's also the fact that the beautiful countryside setting looks so spectacular on screen, audiences can't fail to fall in love with that too.

"You can point a camera in any direction and it just looks beautiful," Rachel agrees, concluding that it's an "absolute privilege" to work on the series.

All Creatures Great and Small season 7 is airing on Channel 5.