Olives, markets and wine... All Creatures star lifts the lid on her idyllic life in Provence
SHE IS known for her life in theyorkshire Dales, but Carol Drinkwater has swapped northern England for a sunnier climate in the French Riviera.
The All Creatures Great And Small actress now lives on a working olive farm in Provence, just outside Cannes, and has opened her home to the cameras for the new Channel 5 showayear In Provence With Carol Drinkwater.
Carol, who as an author has written well over 20 books, has lived there for more than 30 years with film producer husband Michel Noll, and shares the places that have played an important part in her life and inspired her writing.
It has been decades since she appeared in front of the lens, and she was more nervous than she expected to be.
Carol, 73, said: “I have to say I found it utterly terrifying when we first started. I was really scared to go back in front of the camera in such an intimate way – and to open one’s home isn’t an easy thing to do.
“But once the camera was there I remembered it is my friend. I remembered how much I love working with them.
“It would have been ghastly if I thought, ‘Oh dear, I don’t like it’ wouldn’t it?
“I also really wanted to share a place I love so much.the Med, the olive culture, the markets, the wine.what’s not to like?
“I really enjoyed this, it was an unusual and quite remarkable experience. I hope the audience sees my excitement.”
While she was born in Islington, London, she spent her holidays at her mother’s family farm in Laios, Ireland, and feels she has returned to her family’s rural roots.
She added: “My holidays on the family farm in Ireland were the happiest times of my childhood. My mum escaped the farm and went to England. She dreamt of high heels and parties but it was war time, so it didn’t entirely work out like that.
“She is amazed how I’ve gone back to my roots, but I am much happier fiddling with the soil and wearing boots.
“I like the daily business of being on the land, nature and moving through the cycles of seasons.those kinds of things fascinate and inspire me. It must come from my childhood in Ireland.”
This may be why her portrayal of Helen Herriot in All Creatures Great And Small was received so well. It is a time she looks back on fondly and is still in touch with co-stars Peter Davison (Tristan Farnon) and Christopher Timothy
(James Herriot). “We were very much a team, we laughed a lot. Never in all the years on that show did I ever feel like, ‘Oh God, I have to go to work’. I loved it. Every day was different, every day was fun.
“We worked together as such a close team and that is when the best work is done, in my opinion.”
Last year Channel 5 rebooted All Creatures Great And Small to critical acclaim. Former Hollyoaks actress Rachel Shenton plays Helen this time round.
Speaking of why Alf Wight’s stories are so enduring, Carol adds: “It presents a world without problems in it. A horse might die, the cows might not come out, and there are problems with the idea of war looming, but it presents a world with a wholesome heart.
“It is fundamentally about the values of life.there’s redemption, it isn’t bleak.and we need more of that now than ever.”
Ayear In Provencewith Carol Drinkwater, Channel 5, next Sunday, 9pm