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Rafe Spall reveals why Trying is his best ever acting job

The actor shares the screen with real life partner Esther Smith in the series

Rafe Spall and Esther Smith co-star in Trying. (Apple TV+)
Rafe Spall and Esther Smith co-star in Trying. (Apple TV+)

Rafe Spall has revealed that Trying is his best ever job - because he gets to use his own accent.

The star has racked up plenty of TV, stage and film roles in the 20-plus years that he has been acting. But it seems nothing beats his Apple TV+ series.

Set in London, where the actor is from, Trying follows husband and wife Jason and Nikki (Spall's real life love Esther Smith) and their bid to try and start a family. He was quizzed about it during an appearance on BBC's The One Show, as host Alex Jones noted that Trying was his "favourite" acting job.

The actor, whose partner and co-star Smith is expecting their first baby together, explained: "It's lovely for lots of reasons. One of them is that I get to use my own accent.

Rafe Spall loves starring in Trying. (BBC screengrab)
Rafe Spall loves starring in Trying. (BBC screengrab)

"Because when you do acting and you've got to do an accent, most of the thing that you are thinking about is the accent. So the character looks and sounds a lot like me and that makes it a lot easier."

He went on: "I love it, I love the people that I do it with. I love hanging out with Esther, obviously as you can tell!"

Spall, who is the son of Harry Potter star Timothy Spall, said the series also showed how families take all sorts of forms and that all have as much value as the others.

"It's really fun and it's about something that's important," he explained. "It's about something people are affected by, something that isn't necessarily spoken about in the public discourse that much, which is infertility and people's struggles with it."

The actor is the son of Timothy Spall. (BBC screengrab)
The actor is the son of Timothy Spall. (BBC screengrab)

"This means a lot to people, this show, that have been through the issues addressed in it, and that's really gratifying," he continued.

The actor also told of his excitement as he and Smith get ready for the birth of their first baby together. The pair were first romantically linked in 2022 when they were spotted holding hands, and revealed their pregnancy during an appearance on ITV's Lorraine earlier this month.

Spall, who has three children from his former relationship with Hollyoaks actor Elize du Toit, quipped that he "couldn't be more prepared" to add another child to his family.

Rafe Spall and Esther Smith star in <i>Trying</i>. (Apple TV+)
Trying co-stars Rafe Spall and Esther Smith are a real life couple. (Apple TV+)

"It's a massive blessing, it's the best," he said. "I am really really excited. My eldest daughter is 13 so it was 13 years ago that I had my first and now we are blessed with another one, so it is extremely exciting."

Trying started in 2020 and has become a big hit with viewers. So far there have been three series, which have focused on Jason and Nikki's struggles to conceive and their decision to pursue adoption. The fourth series, which starts later this month, will jump forward a few years to when their children are older.