‘All Creatures Great & Small’: A Deep Dive Into Rachel Shenton’s Family
The beloved series All Creatures Great and Small is back for Season 6 on PBS, and that means Rachel Shenton is on our screens again as the lovely Helen Herriot. The long-running show has already been renewed for Seasons 7 and 8, so you can rest assured Helen’s journey is far from over.
While filming All Creatures Great and Small Season 6, Shenton had some major life developments. The 38-year-old actress welcomed her first child in 2025. Learn more about Shenton’s husband, their baby, and how she navigated All Creatures Great and Small while pregnant.
When did Rachel Shenton have a baby?
Shenton gave birth to her first child, son Orson Wilde Overton, on April 9, 2025. She made the announcement on Instagram and included a photo of her newborn’s feet.
“On the 09.04.2025 my dream came true….Welcome to the world Orson Wilde Overton….Our hearts are yours,” her message began. “The biggest thank you to the brilliant midwives and doctors at Royal Stoke maternity Unit. Orson came along earlier than expected…so we needed to stay in hospital for a while and we couldn’t have wished for better care and support.”
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Was Rachel Shenton pregnant while filming All Creatures Great and Small Season 6?
Yes, Shenton was pregnant during production on the sixth season. She explained in a PBS interview that the All Creatures Great and Small team had to get creative to conceal her baby bump. “Thankfully, all the directors and cinematographers are so brilliant that they managed to shoot it in a way that it didn’t stand out, which was nice,” she said.
Season 6 was still filming when Shenton gave birth. She was able to film all of her scenes before going on maternity leave. “I was heavily pregnant throughout that, and so the schedule was quite intense, but it was for a short period. It was a lot of moving parts, and I’m very thankful for everybody that accommodated that,” she noted.
Shenton returned to the set to film the Season 6 Christmas special, and she brought along her baby boy! “I did it in a couple of days, and I did it with my little boy with me—I would just quite literally feed him and then go off and do my scene and go back,” Shenton explained. “It was a joy and such an experience. And don’t know if I’ll ever get to do that again, but it was kind of wild. I loved it.”
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The actress shared a celebratory post when Season 6 wrapped and shared photos of her baby on set with her fellow cast members. “That’s a wrap on season 6….A very special (and very different) one for me, with the arrival of my baby boy ❤️ So glad I could sneak back at the end and introduce him to everyone…shout out to the loveliest production, crew & cast for making it easier! Especially @annamadeley,” she wrote.
Who is Rachel Shenton’s husband?
Shenton is married to Chris Overton, a British actor and filmmaker. They met on the set of the British series Hollyoaks. Shenton and Overton got engaged in March 2018 and married just a couple of months later.
Did Rachel Shenton and her husband win an Oscar?
They sure did! Shenton and her husband won the 2017 Oscar for Live Action Short Film. Shenton wrote, starred, and produced The Silent Child, which was inspired by Shenton’s experiences as the child of a parent who became deaf. Overton directed the short film.
“This film and it’s subject is very close to my heart and I’m so proud that our little project has raised the profile of deafness,” Shenton wrote in an Instagram post. “The biggest thank you of all to our A- team that made this film possible …especially our incredibly talented director Chris Overton (who also happens to be my fiancé ❤️) . WE DID IT TEAM – WE WON A BLOODY OSCAR!!!!”
All Creatures Great and Small, Sundays, 9/8c, PBS
