All Creatures Great and Small star Nicholas Ralph: 'James and Helen are broody'

All Creatures Great and Small season 4 features new challenges and big decisions for the Yorkshire vets.

The latest season of the period drama, which airs on Channel 5 in the UK in October and on PBS Masterpiece in January, is set in Spring 1940 as World War Two continues.

Caring James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph), spirited wife Helen (Rachel Shenton), grouchy head vet Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) and trusty housekeeper Mrs Hall (Anna Madeley) are trying to keep things running smoothly at the Skeldale House practice in the absence of Siegfried’s brother Tristan (Callum Woodhouse), who is serving with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps. But they all face dilemmas about the future.

We caught up with Nicholas Ralph to discover what lies ahead in All Creatures Great and Small season four…

All Creatures Great and Small is back! What impact is the war having?

Nicholas Ralph: “We kick off during the Phoney War [before hostilities became more intense] and it’s the All Creatures that we know and love, so it’s very much focused on the community. But signing up was something James wanted to do and Tristan has now gone off to war, so James still feels that pang of guilt.”

How are James and Helen finding married life as we hear babies could be on the cards?

Nicholas Ralph: “Yes, they are broody. Helen’s more open about it and James is more guarded, although he wants to be a dad as well. It's a complex situation. But in the opening episode, he becomes a bit of a father figure to a young boy who is a toerag but has an unwell dog and James takes him under his wing, it’s charming.”

What is it like at Skeldale without Tristan?

Nicholas Ralph: “Siegfried is feeling the loss of Tris and not dealing with it well. But the bond between Siegfried and James also becomes tighter, which is nice to play. And the whole family unit blossoms more as well with us and Mrs Hall and then Richard Carmody [a student vet played by rising star James Anthony-Rose, who joins later in the series].”

Tell us about Carmody and the other new faces this time…

Nicholas Ralph: “It’s James' idea to get Carmody in because, with the loss of Tristan, they’re struggling. He thinks it will be brilliant and Carmody will be a mini-James, but he turns out to be more like Siegfried, so it blows up in James’ face! James, who plays Carmody, is a joy to work with. We also have James Bolam [the New Tricks star guests as a farmer]. I didn’t get to work with him, but Sam said it was an absolute pleasure.”

And what animals will we see?

Nicholas Ralph: “We have goats who were brilliant! The animal wranglers trained the goats with food and a buzzer, so when they came in, they did this elaborate route around Skeldale. We also have horses, and cows having calves. And we have a flatulent boxer dog that Mrs Pumphrey [the wealthy local played by Patricia Hodge] takes on. It’s the sweetest dog but it’s supposed to be boisterous so it kept jumping up and hitting me in a painful place!”

And is Mrs Pumphrey’s pampered Pekingese Tricki Woo, played by Derek, back too?!

Nicholas Ralph: “Yes, and you can do whatever you need with him, he’s like putty! He always gives you something back in a scene too, he's better than some of the actors! We also have Erin, who plays Dash [Skeldale’s springer spaniel], and she’s the cutest dog ever, although you can't do a scene with her, because as soon as you look at her, she comes over. But you can't not look at her, because she's got these massive doe eyes and she just stares at you intently!”

All Creatures Great and Small season four begins on Thursday October 5 on Channel 5 at 9pm