All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series)

Lore & Background

The series was produced throughout its run by Bill Sellars, who was tasked in early 1977 by the BBC with creating a television series from Herriot's first two novels, If Only They Could Talk (1970) and It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (1972), using the title of the 1975 film adaptation. The novels were written in an episodic style, with each chapter generally containing a short story within the ongoing narrative of Herriot's life, which greatly facilitated their adaptation for a television series. The supporting cast, both recurring and one-offs, numbers over 600, most of whom appear as farmers or clients of the surgery.

Christopher Timothy played the lead role for the full 90 episodes. Bill Sellars had wanted to give the role to Timothy from the outset, but the powers that be wanted to cast the role. Timothy later recalled meeting the author, Alf Wight, who had 'a soft, lilting Scottish accent – though I was told to keep my speech neutral to retain the universality of the part.' Robert Hardy played Siegfried Farnon, based on Wight's real-life professional partner Donald Sinclair. The cast met for the first time in June 1977, and Hardy immediately drove to Yorkshire to meet Sinclair, who 'absolutely hated what I did, because he had no idea he was at all like that.' Peter Davison played Siegfried's younger brother Tristan, based on Brian Sinclair, initially considered a 'semi-regular' character booked for five episodes but appearing in more because Hardy liked the way the two brothers worked.

Reader's Guide

All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series) is significant as a long-running BBC adaptation that brought James Herriot's beloved veterinary stories to a wide television audience. The series had two runs: the original (1978 to 1980, based directly on Herriot's books) for three series; the second (1988 to 1990, filmed with original scripts but generally regarded as a continuation) for four. It is part of a series of movies and television series based on Herriot's novels. The show's legacy includes a 2020 remake produced by Playground Entertainment for Channel 5 in the United Kingdom and PBS in the United States. The series is noted for its large supporting cast of over 600 actors, mostly playing farmers or clients, and for the performances of its three leads, who appeared in all 90 episodes (Timothy and Hardy) or 65 episodes (Davison). The character of Siegfried Farnon was considerably toned down from the real Donald Sinclair, who was even more eccentric than portrayed.

Did You Know?

• Christopher Timothy played James Herriot, not Tristan Farnon; Peter Davison played Tristan Farnon.
• Robert Hardy met the real Donald Sinclair before filming began, despite being told not to meet the real people until after three episodes were made.
• Lynda Bellingham became pregnant during series 5 and her pregnancy was written into the show as Helen's pregnancy.

Reimagining the Source Material

The 2020 Channel 5 adaptation made deliberate departures from both the novels and the earlier BBC television series. Siegfried Farnon is presented as a heartbroken widower, a detail that adds emotional weight to his eccentric behavior. Mrs Hall, the housekeeper at Skeldale House, has been reimagined as a young, live-in figure described as slightly warmer than her literary counterpart, and her role in the narrative has been dramatically expanded. Helen Alderson, the farmer's daughter who eventually becomes James's wife, also receives a significantly larger part in the story. The New York Times noted that the real Donald Sinclair, the inspiration for Siegfried, had even rougher edges than the fictional character—once firing a shotgun during a dinner party to signal it was time for guests to leave. Nicholas Ralph, playing James Herriot, chose to use his natural Scottish accent, a departure from Christopher Timothy's neutral delivery in the 1978 BBC series, where Timothy was instructed to keep his speech neutral for universality.

Authenticity and Animal Work

Nicholas Ralph undertook substantial preparation for his veterinary role, working closely with on-set vet adviser Andy Barrett. The training involved hands-on practice with horses and sheep, learning proper approaches to animals, and mastering the sequence of using a stethoscope on a cow's heart, then lungs, then stomach. Despite this preparation, Ralph acknowledged that for roughly ninety percent of animal scenes, the animals were not actually present. The production relied heavily on prosthetics—including a fully functional cow's back end—and extremely well-trained, happy animals when they did appear on camera. One episode depicting a calf's birth was filmed separately and spliced into the main footage. Ralph also handled live-animal scenes involving a bull and a rearing, kicking horse. He expressed deep respect for Barrett and the animal handlers, and noted that he met Jim and Rosie Wight, the children of the real James Herriot, who told him he had the hardest job because Alf was essentially an observer to their larger-than-life personalities.

Cast and Character Relationships

The series centers on a trio of veterinary surgeons working in the Yorkshire Dales in the late 1930s. Samuel West portrays the eccentric Siegfried Farnon, owner of Skeldale House, while Nicholas Ralph plays James Herriot, the newly hired vet, and Callum Woodhouse takes on the role of Siegfried's younger brother Tristan. Anna Madeley plays Mrs Audrey Hall, the housekeeper. The supporting cast weaves in several romantic and social threads: Rachel Shenton's Helen Alderson falls in love with James and eventually marries him, while Matthew Lewis's Hugh Hulton competes for her affections in the early series. Mollie Winnard's Maggie, a barmaid at the Drovers Arms, has an off-and-on romance with Tristan before marrying another man. In series four and five, Tristan volunteers for the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, and James Anthony-Rose steps in as Richard Carmody, a replacement vet. Mrs Pumphrey, owner of the Pekingese Tricki Woo, is played by Diana Rigg in series one and Patricia Hodge from series two onward.

Longevity and Production History

The series was produced by Playground Entertainment for Channel 5, filmed in the Yorkshire Dales with funding from Screen Yorkshire. Its first series, comprising six episodes plus a Christmas special, was timed to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the first James Herriot book, premiering in the UK on 1 September 2020. A second series followed in late 2021, and in January 2022 the programme was renewed for two additional series. Series three began filming in March 2022, with its first episode airing on 15 September 2022 in the UK and 8 January 2023 in the US. Series four premiered on 5 October 2023 in the UK and 7 January 2024 in the US. In 2024, the show was renewed for a fifth and sixth series, with Callum Woodhouse returning as Tristan Farnon; series five began airing on 19 September 2024. In November 2025, it was announced that All Creatures Great and Small had been renewed again for a seventh and eighth series, cementing its status as a long-running adaptation of Wight's beloved novels.