After a year’s wait between series, a trailer has been released for the fourth series of All Creatures Great and Small, which begins airing on 5 October on Channel 5 (UK) and in early 2024 on PBS (US).
The main cast of the show are returning; with Nicholas Ralph as James, Rachel Shenton as Helen, Samuel West as Siegfried and Anna Madeley as Mrs Hall. Absent, at least for now, is Callum Woodhouse as Tristan Farnon, who has enlisted in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.
There are also two new additions to the cast this season—James Anthony-Rose as Richard Carmody, a student vet brought in to pick up where Tristan has left off at the surgery, and Neve McIntosh as Miss Harbottle, a bookkeeper for the practice.
The series begins in 1940, with Tristan serving in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, leaving James and Siegfried to take on both more work and a new assistant. Judging from the trailer, it appears that James and Helen are thinking about starting a family, but worried about what that could mean for them if James is called up, after his enlistment at the end of series three.
The series is based on a collection of books written by the real-life James Herriot (whose actual name was James Alfred Wight) about his experiences as a vet, with Siegfried and Tristan Farnon being based on his colleagues, Donald and Brian Sinclair. The show has, so far, followed the books relatively closely, but with wartime tensions rising and the previous series featuring plenty of heartwarming interactions between Siegfried and housekeeper Mrs Hall, plenty of fans are wondering whether the show will diverge from its source material in any significant ways when it comes to character arcs.
Words by Casey Langton
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.