All Creatures Great and Small's Rachel Shenton looks worlds away from character in new project
Rachel Shenton is known for starring as the lovable Helen Herriot in Channel 5's hit drama All Creatures Great and Small, and while filming the series 5 has wrapped up, she is now set to appear in a new project - Gladstone Girls.
In the promotional stills, the actress has traded in her 1930s country wear for a chic seventies-style ensemble.
Rachel, who won an Oscar for best live-action short The Silent Child in 2018, is not only starring in the drama but is also writing the six-part scripted podcast series.
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Gladstone Girls tells the story of a group of women from Stoke-on-Trent working in a pottery factory, who strive to preserve their cherished factory traditions in the face of challenges from a new boss.
The podcast drama will also star Rachel's All Creatures Great and Small co-star Anna Madeley. They will be joined by Adrian Rollins and Dorothy Atkinson. Rachel previously described Gladstone Girls as a celebration of pottery inspired by her own family history.
"My nan, grandad, aunts and uncles all worked on the pots," she said. "I wanted to create a piece that celebrates the city, the heritage and the people."
She also told Masterpiece: "It is just a celebration of the potteries industry, really, of an industry that I don't think many people know much about, this entire industry that came from this tiny little place in the middle of England.
"We interviewed over a hundred pottery women, so it's based on true stories and real life. It's a skill that people don't know about much." Rachel's husband Chris Overton, who directed The Silent Child, is set also set to direct Gladstone Girls.
"This is an exciting true story with bundles of heart and comedy, but at the centre piece is an important story which is very current today," he added. "The characters are so vibrant. It could be the most fun I’ve ever had making something."
