As All Creatures Great & Small returns for its sixth season, the Yorkshire Dales feel more alive – and more in flux – than ever. It’s 1945, the war in Europe has ended, and the world of Darrowby is shifting with new veterinary techniques, expanding families, and the hopeful hum of a community rebuilding itself. At the centre of it all is Nicholas Ralph, whose nuanced portrayal of James Herriot has become the heart of this BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winning adaptation.
In speaking with our Peter Gray, Ralph explored the unique weight of stepping into a legacy role beloved across generations; the surprising ways he and James began to blur together over time; and why, in today’s turbulent climate, audiences are turning to All Creatures Great & Small not just for comfort, but for clarity and connection.
James Herriot, he’s often the quiet, emotional centre of the chaotic, rural life. Was there a part of his inner world that was the hardest for you to authentically inhabit, and did playing him change anything about how you see people in your own life?
Yeah, it’s a great question. He’s kind of the observer of these much bigger, more eccentric characters. Where they may wear their heart on their sleeve a little more, James is, I think, a really deep thinker and feels things very deeply, as well. Across the six years we’ve definitely seen him grow into himself and into the man he’s becoming, and also the vet he’s becoming. You see him starting to take the bull by the horns a little more, literally, a little more in his life, which is a really great point of growth to see for (him). But certainly at the start, he was perhaps a bit more gregarious sometimes. I can be more quiet and introverted, so it’s one of those things where you can take little bits from (the real person). The books were a massive source of inspiration (too). I met his son and daughter, Jim and Rosie, who were amazing and told so many stories. Jim said that the James Herriot in the books is very much James Herriot the man.
Because this character is so beloved across generations, and Christopher Timothy’s portrayal is iconic. Was there a moment during where you felt the weight of legacy most intensely?
There were definitely nerves when getting the job and coming to play James. Like you say, there were big welly boots to fill. However, the overriding feeling was just one of excitement. I just could not wait to get started. I’d been studying and went to drama school and then theatre over the span of 12 years, so when I read a newspaper article saying, you know, “Nick Ralph’s overnight (success)”, or whatever the term was, it was like, “Yeah, 10 years in the making, so much overnight,” (Laughs). It was just my first TV job. But what a first job to get!
I remember doing the read through for the very first series, and Jim and Rosie were there for that, so that was pretty intimidating. You’re in a room with all the executives, the cast that you’ve just met the night before, and then his actual son and daughter, so that was nerve-racking, I’ll be honest. But that first day was brilliant. It sounds a bit cheesy, but I really did feel at home. I loved it.
As you said that you had his son and daughter there to guide you through. I know you trained in real veterinary procedures. Was there a single moment in training that you made say, “Oh, that’s what this profession is really like?” Something that no book or script could have shown you?
Yeah, we did a vet boot camp before series one. You just get thrown into the deep end. So we arrived on the farm, and it was a dairy farm, and there were cows, and the on-set vet just handed me a stethoscope and said, “On you go.” He went through procedures and how to approach animals safely, and then the visual assessment, and then with the stethoscope you look at hearts, lungs and stomach. You just get an idea of what’s going on with the animal.
There was a story in the first couple of episodes, maybe the first episode, where James is looking at an abscess in a horse’s hoof. We went through that kind of procedure at the stables, and the vet was telling me how you take the hoof between your legs, up and around, and then you can get the hoof knife in their to dig out the dirt. You trim the hoof to get to the abscess, then you burst it. He then told me how the chap that used to own the stables doesn’t do this type of thing anymore, because one time he was doing it, the horse came down on top of him and broke his back. I’m like, “Choose your moments to tell your stories,” (laughs). I think it took us by surprise how practical and hands-on we got so early on. But it was the best kind of way, and a real “Welcome to the job.”
Animals are unpredictable scene partners. Was there a subtle or invisible adjustment that you learned in order to make a scene feel alive with a living creature who has no idea there’s a camera on them? Is there something you learned about almost letting them guide the scene?
Yeah, definitely. Our on-site vet, he’s always there, and the animal handlers are always there. The animals are trained impeccably well. They’re better trained than most of the actors, to be honest (laughs). They’re better behaved. There was one time (where) me and Rachel (Shenton) had a scene with a calf, and the calf is supposed to have broken its leg. (Rachel)’s there with its head, stroking it, and the calf is just so relaxed and starts to fall asleep. The director had to tell her to stop stroking the calf so much, because he looks so peaceful. He doesn’t look like he’s in pain. We needed him to be, at least, awake. He was having a great time. We had to cut and take a break and let the calf go outside and be a calf (laughs), to wake him up.
I think when you’re working with any animals, but especially the bigger animals, there’s a whole different focus that comes onto the set. It’s really lovely. There’s a real calm, a quietness and focus that you don’t perhaps when the animals aren’t there. That’s a really nice thing that happens naturally. Everyone’s very respectful in that way, which is paramount. Then we have a mixture of animals and prosthetics as well, so fake back-ends of cows, horses, a fake sheep…things like that. For the actual operations when you see more in the close-ups, that’s always the real animal, and my arm will be along their spin covered in hay, and I’ll have my shoulder slightly jutted out, and when you go closer it’s a fake back-end, which is fully (operational) with little hooves and a sack that you can pull out of. It’s incredible what they can do.
You’re obviously going to have different reactions to different animals and scenes in general. Was there a scene for you that blindsided you emotionally where Nicholas Ralph had a stronger reaction than James Herriot was supposed to?
Oh, that’s another great question. I think it was after putting a horse down, that was pretty profound, because, at that point, I’d never had to do that. And what a way to do it?! This beautiful, majestic horse, and trying everything and not being able to do what you want to do and save this animal. Yeah, we had a scene where I drive away at the end and I stop to take a moment. And I did get really upset. The whole reason you get into (veterinary) is to try and help animals. To save animals. To cure animals from ailments. Unfortunately, some of the times you can’t, and you have to do the last thing on Earth that you want to do. I remember speaking to our on-set vet and I asked him what that first time was like that he had to do something like that, and he was very honest in his response. But it was a beautiful episode.
This is probably a bigger question about story and humanity, because this show has endured for decades for a reason, but what do you think this show reveals about humanity that modern audiences are starving for the most?
Yeah, I think it harkens back to a simpler time. The onus is really on the community, helping out one another, love for the animals, and love for your little pocket of the world, with kindness and love being at the forefront. You can never have enough of that. (This show) is populated by these wonderful eccentric characters and these wonderful Yorkshire farmers and all the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of them. It’s about helping out one another. It’s about helping out the animals. It’s love and kindness for those around you.
All six seasons of All Creatures Great & Small are now available to stream on BritBox Australia.
