Rachel Bilson talks Hart of Dixie

Comedy drama Hart of Dixie stars The O.C.'s Rachel Bilson as Dr Zoe Hart; a sassy and stylish New Yorker who wants to follow in her father's footsteps and become a heart surgeon.

However, she ends up packing her bags and leaving Manhattan for life in the town of Bluebell in Alabama. It's a bit of a culture shock for Zoe, and not everyone is pleased to see her...

Brought to us by Josh Schwartz, the creator of The O.C. and executive producer of Gossip Girl, Hart of Dixie is about small-town living, big-city attitudes and complicated love triangles.

Find out what Rachel has to say about her latest project.

Tell us about your character?

She's a doctor who moves from New York City to a small southern town, where she takes over half of a general practice. Zoe's a surgeon and she's only doing this so she can get the surgical fellowship that she wants. So the surgery asks her to go down and to be a general practitioner for a year.

How does Zoe Hart compare to the much loved character of Summer Roberts from The O.C.?

That is a very interesting question. It's been so long since I made The O.C., I can hardly remember what she was like! But I do remember that it was such a fun show and that Summer was a really funny character. She was also very strong-willed, and she and Zoe are very similar in that respect.

Can you describe to British viewers what's so special about the Deep South?

It's like its own country in a way. People really know you down there; they know each other's neighbour and there's so much love and soul in the food. It's almost like a religion down there, and generally people really care about things.

There's a nice feeling all over the South when it comes to taking care of each other and taking care of their neighbours. If you compare it to New York , the South is a lot more of an emotional kind of place.

In Hart of Dixie, Zoe finds herself the subject of bad boy Wade's affections. In real life, do you tend to go for the good boys or the ones with an edge?

Every girl can relate to that dilemma - that's always the way it is! Every girl is usually attracted to a bad boy, but the interesting thing with Wayne is that actually deep down he is good. The triangle between Zoe, Wade and George is really fun to play - of course it is!

Hart of Dixie is new and exclusive to Really, Mondays at 8pm from 30 April (Sky 248, virgin 267, Freeview 20)