‘All Creatures Great and Small’ is reborn!

Landing your first ever TV role must be a daunting experience for any actor, especially if it happens to be the lead in a high-profile new series which also stars the likes of Samuel West and Diana Rigg.

But small-screen newcomer Nicholas Ralph had an extra reason to feel nervous, as he’s taking on a role that’s already famous.

He’s been cast as James Herriot in Channel 5’s new version of All Creatures Great and Small. Herriot (which was the pen name of vet James Alfred ‘Alf’ Wight) first found fame as the author of a series of autobiographical novels, which were later turned into the films All Creatures Great and Small and It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet, starring Simon Ward and John Alderton respectively.

However, most people probably associate Herriot with Christopher Timothy, who played him in the BBC TV version of All Creatures Great and Small, which ran on-and-off from 1978 to 1990.

So, perhaps it’s for the best that Nicholas wasn’t particularly aware of the vet’s previous incarnations, meaning he came to the role fresh. He says: “I had never come across James Herriot or All Creatures Great and Small before the audition.

Initially when the script came through I thought the writing was incredible and I felt like I knew the character really well. I felt an instant connection and I really wanted to play him.”

Nicholas didn’t have to look too far though to find people who were aware of Herriot’s legacy. “My parents knew of and had seen the 1970s show so I spoke with them and it was actually my uncle who is a massive fan of the books and as a boy had read them all.

“He lived near Alf Wight’s veterinary practice and his mum took him along one day and they opened the door for signings and my uncle had his book signed. So when I told him he nearly hit the roof and that was only about the audition. He was beside himself when I got the role!”

Luckily, knowing how much the stories meant to people didn’t put him off.

The actors says: “The more I researched and discovered about the world of James Herriot, which is absolutely massive, and is still thriving today… it was pure excitement.

“So big shoes to fill and of course you have slight nerves that go with that but the overriding emotion is excitement. Of course, I want to do it justice so if anything it focuses you in even more. I just hope people enjoy it.”

In the opening episode, newly qualified vet James is struggling to find work in 1930s Glasgow. His mother thinks he should take a job on the docks, but instead he pursues his dream of working with animals and attends an interview in Yorkshire.

It soon becomes clear his potential new boss Siegfried Farnon (West) doesn’t just want to chat – he puts James’s skills to the test by taking him out to local farms. On the plus side, that does give the novice a chance to meet farmer Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton).

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