An hour of escape from ‘woke’ telly hectoring

HERE at Deano Towers, we’re big fans of cop dramas.

Once I’ve finished my chores, the current Mrs Deano allows me to join her on the sofa for an hour of death, murder, gore and intrigue.

But the other night we opted for a change and settled down to watch the first episode of the new All Creatures Great and Small.

We’re both fans of the original, starring Christopher Timothy and Robert Hardy, and were slightly concerned that the reboot may not have measured up.

Dear reader, we need not have worried.

Seldom has an hour of telly been so enjoyable.

Who would have thought that a TV show featuring a young Scotsman with his arm up a cow ( unlike the original, they use a prosthetic beast for close- ups now) would be so uplifting?

It was a joy and we loved it. And we were not alone.

The first episode was watched by 3.3 million viewers and earned an audience share of 20.4%, making All Creatures Great and Small Channel 5’ s highest rated show since February 2016.

My bet is that it will be a huge triumph for C5 and it’s being compared favourably to the BBC original – it even has the same glorious theme tune.

And here’s a thing.

At a time when telly executives are bending over backwards, scrambling to be the most “woke” and sacking long- time Question of Sport presenters for being “too white”, there was NO “diversity” in All Creatures Great and Small.

Of course there wasn’t. It’s set in 1930s North Yorkshire.

But you can bet that somewhere, someone is wondering why an immigrant family from Somalia was not shoehorned into the original James Herriot story.

Or why All Creatures hasn’t tackled the gritty issue of racism in Swaledale.

Or cross- dessing in Keld.

There is HUGE pressure on TV companies add a layer of political correctness on everything – no matter how incongruous it may be.

But maybe the vast majority of people in Britain – that huge, unheard mass of people who do not constantly blather on “Twitter” – don’t WANT to be lectured at every turn.

Decent, ordinary people who don’t want to be called “racist” because they oppose vandalism, or “transphobic” because they don’t want a man in a bra in the same changing room as their daughter at the swimming baths.

People who think the olden days – for all their faults – were perhaps politer, gentler and happier than today’s tortured times.

So C5 should be congratulated for creating an island of idyllic resistance. email: simon@sundaysport.co.uk