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It’s hard to imagine When Calls the Heart without Pascale Hutton’s Rosemary Coulter character. The spirited actor-turned-newspaper publisher is part of the glue that holds Hope Valley together. So fans may be surprised to learn that when Hutton was cast, she thought she’d only be playing the role for two episodes. 

Rosemary was introduced in ‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 1 

Pascale Hutton of 'When Calls the Heart' smiling and in profile
Pascale Hutton of ‘When Calls the Heart’ | Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

Rosemary is one of When Calls the Heart’s central characters. She made her first appearance late in season 1, when she arrived in Hope Valley with the goal of rekindling her romance with Mountie Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing). But Jack had already fallen for Elizabeth (Erin Krakow). Though her efforts to reunite with Jack weren’t successful, she decided to stay in town anyway. She and Elizabeth eventually became close friends. Rosemary also met and married lumber mill owner Lee Coulter (Kavan Smith). After many years of struggling to have a child, Rosemary discovered she was pregnant at the end of season 9. 

‘When Calls the Heart’ cast member Pascale Hutton thought her time on the show would be short

Hutton has played Rosemary for nearly a decade. But when she was initially cast in the Hallmark Channel drama, she didn’t think it would be a long-term commitment. She thought she was just booking a quick job to keep her busy during a break from another show, she recently told actor Colin Egglesfield during an appearance on his Coffee With Colin podcast (via YouTube).

“I was on another TV series. I was a series regular on another show. I kind of went in [to the audition] just on a lark,” she recalled. “And at that time, I thought it was just supposed to be a two-episode guest arc. So I thought, ‘This seems like something fun to do during my hiatus.’” 

“I didn’t know what I was getting into at the time,” Hutton admitted.

Hutton became a regular character on the Hallmark Channel TV show  

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Hutton was under the impression that Rosemary would appear in only a couple of episodes of When Calls the Heart. So she was somewhat surprised when she received the script for the two episodes she was set to appear in and realized that Rosemary’s final line had her revealing her intention to stay in Hope Valley. 

At the time, Hutton was starring in the Canadian TV series Arctic Air, and she wasn’t sure how a possible return as Rosemary would work if she was busy with the other show. However, her dilemma was soon resolved when the CBC canceled Arctic Air. The next day, When Calls the Heart producer Brad Krevoy called her up to invite her to join the show as a regular. Her brief guest stint turned into a long-standing role on a show that eventually grew to become one of Hallmark’s most popular programs. 

When Calls the Heart Season 10 airs on Hallmark Channel in 2023. 

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