Brunt: 'I put effort into Emmerdale'

Emmerdale star Dominic Brunt has admitted that he is a perfectionist on the set of the show.

The actor, who plays vet Paddy Kirk on the Yorkshire-based drama, confirmed that he often arrives at the set early in order to fit in rehearsal time with his co-star Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle).

Brunt told The Northern Echo: "We always try and get in early and work out what we're going to do with the scenes. If we just came in and said our lines we'd have gone five years ago.

"We really want to make it work. We love our jobs and are very, very fortunate to be where we are so it's worth putting the effort in."

The 39-year-old also revealed that Lucy Pargeter, better known as his latest screen partner Chastity Dingle, has a similar attitude to her soap commitments.

"Working with Lucy has just been amazing over the past year," he commented. "I love working with people who want to work. She reminds me of Lisa Riley. She's got a great imagination."

Brunt made his first appearance on the programme in 1997. His alter ego was quickly drawn to Riley's character Mandy Dingle, who eventually left in 2001.