In the second series of Primeval, Hannah Spearritt reprises her role as Abby Maitland, the young zoo assistant who has become part of Professor Nick Cutter's team investigating the anomalies. Now dating her co-star Andrew-Lee Potts, who plays Connor Temple on the show, Spearritt's enjoyment of the show bubbles through...Words: Paul Simpson

Have you been surprised by the reaction to the new series?

We’ve just been blown away by it. The TV magazines have got behind it. They seem to be promoting it this time around as a smash hit. It's been really cool, more than we could have asked for.

How has the show changed between the first and second years?

I think we've learned from the experience of doing something for the first time. Even though the Framestore guys, who do the CGI, had all done it before, they've got better because some creatures have been repeated. There are also new creatures where the CGI is completely better. We've all worked together before so our relationship is a lot more solid. Storyline-wise, you can take it further. It's just a bit more risky; it pushes the boundaries more.

Do you all feel like a team now?

Episode 1, Series 1 we were just sort of ambling through the forest, and as a team, we weren't that well connected – individuals drawn into this obscure situation. We were pulled by default into this team. So yes, there is a much better connection there. When we're shooting CGI, because we know each other, we can just feel more towards what the other person is doing. It's become easier because we're connected better. We can play with it more.

The great thing about the CGI on this series is that we now realise that if we do something, the guys at Framestore will work with what we give them, so we can play around a bit more. None of us had ever done anything like that before, so we were working with what they told us they were going to do, but then we realised that we can really make this work, so we began to play with it. This series, we got a lot closer to the dinosaurs; there's more interaction. We have more fun with it because we have trust in how it's going to look afterwards, so it's a more enjoyable experience, as opposed to a completely scary situation.

Do you still get the moments of "what on earth are we doing"?

Not any more, really. We're just so used to it. It's insane. Every day is just so different in a Primeval way. There's always something during the day that is so fantastical, because we're put in fantastical circumstances. That's the good thing about the show: it's realistic in fantastical circumstances. We treat it as normal, but there are insane things going on around us! That's the premise of the show; that's what we know, and that's the beauty of it.

We're lucky because Douglas Henshall is such a great, solid, grounded actor. He helps me, and I'm sure other people, just by being so fantastic with the creatures, how much he really believes that they're there. That's rubbed off on all of us, and if we believe it, the audience will. That's our job: to believe it.

Has Stephen Hunt's revelation that he slept with Helen Cutter knocked everything on the head as far as Abby is concerned?

Completely. For Abby, that's something she wouldn't even entertain any more. Work is so important to her anyway. It wasn't convenience, but Stephen was there, he looked good, so she thought she might flutter her eyelashes a bit at him. However work is the number one priority for her anyway, so after the revelation that he had an affair with Helen it was very easy for her to just go back to work. That's the end of that.

There's a new girl, a love interest for Connor, who shows him a lot of attention. Abby begins to realise that maybe there's something going with her feeling-wise towards Connor, but we'll see how that develops. Their relationship gets really tested this next series and they go on a journey together. It's quite exciting.

How does Abby feel about Connor at the start of the series?

It's one of those situations where if she did have feelings there, they would only be brought to her attention through something quite dramatic. At that point, I don't think she's aware of any feelings for him; she just takes him for granted, a little bit, because she knows he'll always be there. They’re friends: the feelings might be there but they haven't been brought to the surface in any way.

Did you and Andrew keep your relationship separate from filming, or did it inform the Connor/Abby relationship?

We found it terribly easy to slip into Connor and Abby in a weird sort of way. It's bizarre: we didn't really have to fight to stop Andrew and Hannah coming into Connor and Abby. As soon as we were on set, it's just what we know, because we're so used to it. It's weird, because the chemistry Connor and Abby have is why we have so many scenes together. It works so well on screen. It naturally stays that way, which is quite a good thing for us.

The series seems to have got bigger this year. Can it become even bigger if there is a third series?

The writer, Adrian Hodges, has ideas coming out of every orifice! The series can go anywhere, and that's the brilliant thing about it. It's so difficult for me to say what sort of ideas are floating around regarding the series!

What was your reaction when you first saw the ARC set?

Incredible! It's just brilliant. We couldn't believe that they'd put the time and money into something so expensive and spectacular looking for the show. It reminds me of 24, it's so dramatic – all the people walking around. Then you've got a corridor off the main circular area with the gym, and the armoury.

One of the days that stood out for me on the last series was seeing that for the first time. The design of it is just brilliant. It was a great base to have. It was one of the main differences from series one - it was nice to have somewhere that we always came back to. It made you feel more secure. It's nice when you go to work to go back to the same place.

Have there been any things that have surprised you when you read the script?

I never thought Andrew would get a girlfriend! They don't shock us any more. We often talk to Adrian Hodges, so we're aware a lot of the time what may be on the page, so when we read it, we're aware of the arc of where the story is going. Nothing stands out as a shock.

What was your favourite memory of filming this year?

Being in Canary Wharf for episode four. We did a lot of stuff on boats at night. It was so dramatic: the shots that they were getting, and the backdrop of the way that Canary Wharf looks at night were so filmic. That was really exciting, and very different to what we'd done before.

What's next for you?

Andrew and I work on a short film together that we've got on YouTube, which we're constantly working on, called Little Lilly – Andrew directs me in that. And lots of life stuff outside of work!

Primeval series 2 begins on ITV on Saturday 12th January, 7pm.