Dominic Brunt felt "nervous" about learning his lines for his ‘Emmerdale’ lockdown episode.
The 50-year-old star has played loveable Dales vet Paddy Kirk for 23 years, but after a three-month break from learning dialogue he was feeling anxious about taking on his scripts for his and Lucy Pargeter’s (Chas Dingle) special ep.
He said: "The script is very well written and it’s very subtle and moves at a pace. As a two handler, I was worried that it might be a 20-odd-minute monologue shared between Lucy and myself, but it’s quite episodic and cut into bite size chunks.
"Most scenes are about five pages long so we can film it in stages. I haven’t learned a single line of dialogue in about three months though so I’m nervous.
"Lucy is a master at learning lines and hardly ever stumbles. No pressure."
While the lockdown episode was slightly different to the norm for numerous reasons – such as the cast and crew having to social distance, due to the coronavirus pandemic – Dominic didn’t start collaborating with the writers any more so than usual, because he feels it would be a "slippery slope" if actors started meddling with scripts.
He said: "I prefer to leave the writers alone. They are experts and professionals at what they do. I think it’s a slippery slope to let actors into that process.
"You wouldn’t let the editors start directing so why let the actors start writing. The lunatics would take over the asylum."
The star has enjoyed being at home with his family during lockdown, but has found homeschooling tough.
He said: "It’s been a very mixed bag. I’ve relished spending time with my family, but homeschooling is not easy. I’ve always admired teachers, but I have a newfound respect.
"I’ve also missed the job I love so much.
"It’s all been a bit of a worry too with the dangers involved and the news has been so utterly tragic everyday. So much heartbreak for so many people. Incredibly sad."