Strictly Come Dancing star Graeme Hall, best known for Channel 5's Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, has spoken about his cameo role in another beloved Channel 5 series, All Creatures Great and Small.
The 60-year-old appeared in the period drama last year as a supporting character, Ambrose's friend. The show follows James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) in the fictional village of Darrowby, alongside Helen (Rachel Shenton), Mrs Hall (Anna Madeley), Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) and Tristan Farnon (Callum Woodhouse).
Praise for the production's detail
Discussing his experience on set, Graeme told the Screentime team at Reachplc: "It was an absolute pleasure to work with them, I can't believe I get paid for this sometimes. I'm even more of a fan of the show now than I was before."
He also expressed amazement at the meticulous attention to detail that characterises the production, which might escape the notice of home audiences. He added: "You could have the biggest television in your living room and you would still never see, for example, the dates on the newspapers that are on the kitchen table. The fact that the tax disc on the car has the correct date on it."
"The latest series is 1945, the war has just finished, the tax disc on the car running out in December 1945 or something, the newspapers were all the right dates. When I did my cameo role, the lady came around and said, 'Right, what time have you got on your watch?'"
"If you happen to see the time on somebody's watch, it'll all be the correct time! It's just unbelievable, and when you talk to the actors about, for example, the newspapers, they say it just helps, it really transports you back to the 40s."
Strictly journey so far
Graeme is currently among the 14 famous faces competing in this year's Strictly Come Dancing. BBC audiences have watched him transform into the Godfather during Movie Week and a milkman in week three.
His most recent routine earned him 25 points, placing him in joint eighth spot alongside TV presenter Will Best. Following his Jive performance, the 60-year-old appeared to become overwhelmed while chatting to Johannes Radebe.
Graeme said: "I had a bit of a meltdown on Wednesday. I didn't think I'd be doing that, but we did it." After gathering himself, he revealed to Johannes that he'd thoroughly enjoyed performing the routine with Lauren Oakley.
Graeme wasn't the only one getting tearful, as Craig Revel Horwood made a heartfelt confession after witnessing his performance. He said: "I felt like I was watching dear Len Goodman with the flatcap. It brought back some memories, I got a bit emosh darling through that. I'm not going to cry, don't worry."
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday, October 17 on BBC One at 6.15pm.
