How did you go about designing the engagement ring?

big city isn’t as satisfying as the comfort you feel back home [with family]. That theme rings true in this series as well, but the characters are a lot more layered, a lot more complicated . ... Hallmark said they wanted to push the envelope a little, attract a younger audience and do something different, and I think we’ve done that.

How far can you stretch the boundaries on a family-friendly channel?

I think it’s about keeping a little bit of edge in the show. If we’re going to write and play compelling characters, sometimes they have to make mistakes. Not small mistakes, but relatively big mistakes.

And you have to trust that in their pursuit of redemption, the audience Metcalfe and fiance Cara Santana, for whom he designed an engagement ring.

will also find them redeemable as well.

I had a close friend, [jewellery maker] Adam Campbell, walk me through the process. We knew that Cara wanted an emerald shape . ... I wanted a really feminine, delicate low-profile setting and band with diamonds all the way around the band and the basket, and really small prongs holding the diamond. I enjoyed it and Cara deserved it.

Has the wedding date been set?

Still to be determined. We’re roughly talking about a two-year plan: a year to enjoy our engagement and a year to start planning.