Jo Joyner has compared working with Paul Nicholls to teaming up with Jake Wood.
Jo Joyner
The 41-year-old actress enjoyed reuniting with the former 'EastEnders' star on school-based Channel 4 drama 'Ackley Bridge' - in which she plays head teacher Mandy Carter - because the pair share "similar instincts" when it comes to acting, and he reminds her of fellow Walford wonder Jake (Max Branning).
She said: "I love working with Paul, he's a really great actor and we get along well.
"It does make it very easy on set because we do work in quite a similar way as well.
"We're very similar kind of actors actually, instinctive. A bit like when I work with Jake, it's always really easy and it makes your job easier. I just genuinely enjoy it.
"I really love working with Paul. This is the third time and it's been great. He's fantastic."
The 'Shakespeare and Hathaway' star feels "lucky" to be a part of another successful show returning for a second series, after playing Tanya Cross on 'EastEnders' for seven years, and she feels "really lucky" that the drama has been re-commissioned for another run.
Speaking on the Channel 4 website, Jo added: "It's always really lovely to get a chance to do a series again.
"I've been really fortunate since leaving 'EastEnders' to do a lot of new series. A lot of them have gone again for another series.
"There's something really special about starting up a series with a whole company with a crew and a cast and producers and the art directors.
"You can all get a say on developing the characters and what their set looks like and their home looks like.
"You get really involved in it which is really special and really lucky.
"If you get to do a second series it's even better because by then yourself and the company know what you're making and know what you're trying to achieve.
"There's always a concern about pleasing the channel and the audience, but once you've set up a show and it went all right, and you know the things that didn't work and the things that did work, getting a chance to go back and make the best of it is always really lucky. So it's been really lovely."
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