All Creatures Great and Small is of a simpler time... it will be a lovely bit of
OU probably won’t have heard of the Scottish actor Nicholas Ralph before, but that is all about to change. The 30-year-old – who grew up in Nairn in the Highlands – is making his television debut in a Channel 5 series which is bound to be a big hit.
All Creatures Great and Small, written by The Last Kingdom’s Ben Vanstone, is based on the memoirs of iconic vet Alf Wight, who wrote under the pseudonym James Herriot.
The series – which also stars the likes of Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Dame Diana Rigg and Rachel Shenton – follows James (played by Nicholas) as he begins his first job in a small Yorkshire town in the 1930s, where he soon becomes famous for his inspiring compassion, humour and love of life.
Since the books were first published in the 1970s, millions of copies have been published around the world.
The stories have been adapted for TV before too; the hit BBC series, also called All Creatures Great and Small, saw Christopher Timothy in the lead role, and ran for 12 years from 1978 to 1990.
Here, we chat to Nicholas about his take on the character, and why the themes of the show will resonate with audiences now more than ever.
A new adaptation of James Herriot’s cherished collection of stories, is coming.
talks to Nicholas Ralph about stepping into the shoes of the much-loved vet
and then, on top of that, he was just so lovely. Any questions I had, he was there for me.
He just put me at ease straight away and, it’s maybe a bit corny, but I genuinely did feel at home on that first day.
Derek. You would never expect this fancy little thing to be called Derek!
He was a consummate professional and his character journey over the series is very strong. He’s going to be a star.
THEY’VE got these Jersey cows who were just lovely. When you’re working with these bigger animals, a whole new focus comes into it.
There’s an atmosphere on set; you have to be really calm. So it was nice to do those scenes.
But also the little dog who plays Tricky Woo, which people will remember well from the series and the books, is a little Pomeranian... tail waggles in the air as he walks along, I WAS raised in the north of Scotland, you can’t see his legs and it’s kind of in a little town. It was my back like he glides. garden, then a fence and then a field; But the dog actor is actually called the field always had cows and sheep He was a consummate professional and his character journey over the series is very strong. He’s going to be a star. in it. When we were really small, there was one cow who we named Friendly because the farmer would lift us onto her back and let us ride on this cow for the length of the garden and take us off again.
IT’S certainly that thing about helping your neighbour, and community, and coming together... (after schools shut because of Covid-19) I remember a teacher going out with his backpack on full of school meals and he was doing kilometres a day to get meals to the kids. Brilliant stuff.
I think it (All Creatures Great and Small) is (from) simpler times and something many people yearn for, especially now, when times are a bit more complex.
It will be a lovely bit of
HONESTLY, I have no idea. In drama school, there’s no class on people noticing you in the street.
We were doing some interviews during the filming of the series and they were like, ‘You will get fan mail’.
I was like ‘I won’t get fan mail’ and they were like, ‘You will!’ I’ll just have to take it as it comes!