Inseparable for more than four decades, Steve Green found himself facing an unfamiliar loneliness when his beloved wife Jean was rushed to the hospital. Britain's most senior farming couple, Steve and Jean Green, revealed the secret behind their 45-year marriage while filming the latest series of The Yorkshire Vet spin-off, At Home With The Greens — a love story so touching it left vet Peter Wright visibly flustered.

Steve, aged 96, endured a week alone when his wife Jean, 73, was admitted to hospital for an operation. When Peter brought Jean back to their Stoneybrough Farm home in Thirsk, the devoted pair were soon snuggled up together by the fireside, overjoyed to be reunited in each other's company.

"They were like two smitten teenagers – they had never been separated until Jean's hospital admission. I thought I'd better leave; things seemed to be heating up," Peter shares with a grin. "They'd never spent a single night apart until then, which just epitomises their relationship. There's never a harsh word, but there's plenty of laughter and joy along the journey. It might sound cheesy, but it's the truth."

Since the programme first aired in 2015, Steve and Jean have captured the hearts of viewers nationwide, while Peter has cherished a friendship with the couple spanning more than half a century.

"I got to know them well when I was young," he reminisces. "They became one of my regular clients when I started work in Thirsk in 1982. I had this banter with Mrs Green right from the word go, and we've always had a close relationship. I've always loved going to their farm because of the banter we have."

Jean, recognised for her vivid sweatshirts and the jingling of silver bracelets adorning her wrists, is quite the personality on the programme, while her husband may appear reserved — though Peter is well aware there is far more to him than first impressions suggest.

"Stephen is more of a thinker, but once you get him going he's quite a conversationalist. When they were in the first flush of love, he would sit on his tractor out in a field, and he showed me some of the poems he would write to Jean there.. When they renewed their wedding vows after 40 years, he produced one of the poems out of his pocket, which I thought was rather nice."

Peter acknowledges that filming with the no-nonsense couple can prove challenging; Steve might be easing into his nineties, yet Jean remains as spirited as ever, perpetually on the hunt for the next adventure.

"You are never quite sure what she is going to come out with next. Some of it can be a little repetitive, some of it may not be suitable for television," he says with a laugh.

"We've got to accept them for who they are, and that their whole world revolves around their farm. You are limited to some extent what new things you can do with them, but Jean always has some ideas. In the new series she thinks about having a tattoo, and I never saw that one coming."