Natalie J Robb: Emmerdale set isn't as much of a laugh post-lockdown

Natalie J. Robb says Emmerdale\'s cast and crew "don\'t have as much of a laugh" with reduced numbers on set nowadays.

The former \'Dream Team\' actress has returned to filming on the ITV soap amid the coronavirus pandemic, but she admitted the atmosphere isn\'t quite what it used to be because there are fewer people around due to new health and safety guidelines.

She said: "It\'s lovely to be going back to work, I\'m very grateful for that and I\'m sure we all are. It is very different, you have a two-metre pole, and they make sure everyone is at a safe distance all the time.

"There\'s less of us now on set, so you don\'t have as much of a laugh, but we\'ll get there.

"We\'re clawing it back slowly."

Natalie - who plays Moira Dingle on the show - found love just before lockdown with her boyfriend and co-star Jonny McPherson (Liam Cavanagh), and the pair appeared on today\'s (19.08.20) \'ITV Racing\' via video link, alongside fellow horse enthusiast and Dales co-star Claire King (Kim Tate).

Claire was a keen jockey herself and used to race back in the days when Princess Anne did, but joked she has now hung up her riding crop because she "doesn\'t bounce like [she] used to".

Speaking on the show, which was broadcasting from the first day of York\'s Ebor Festival race meeting, Claire said: "I was a very poor amateur jockey.

"I started doing eventing and things like that and then progressed to racing, and it was in the early 90s when I was in \'Emmerdale\' first time round I held my jockey\'s licence.

"Me and Fraser used to ride in races, same time Princess Anne was racing.

"I\'ve hung up my racing boots now, everybody will be glad to hear, because I don\'t bounce like I used to."