All Creatures Great and Small: I watched the second series of the Channel 5 show - I was taken on an emotional rollercoaster and learnt about what life is like for farming families

It doesn’t matter how many episodes of All Creatures Great and Small you watch, the stunning scenery and charming characters will always take your breath away.

No matter what season it is, the cosy element of the show will never change and that’s what I love about it.

Normally I would skip the intro of TV shows but with this one I can’t. The music and animations make you feel like you are wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate or Yorkshire Tea in your hand.

During the second series there are many different subject matters, storylines and interactions between the characters that make you feel joyful, sad and emotional.

The main storyline for the first episode was James Herriot (played by Nicholas Ralph) fighting to save poor dog Scruff from being put down after he accidentally terrorised a flock of sheep. Not only did James put his veterinary hat on whilst he treated the traumatised sheep, he also wore his heart on his sleeve; he could see it from both animals’ point of view.

Everyone around him, except Scruff’s owner Jenny Alderson (played by Imogen Clawson), was trying to convince James that putting the dog down was the best course of action. But he was having none of it. The attachment he has to the animals under his care is nothing short of beautiful and heartwarming.

We also got to see his firmer side. He really put his foot down with Siegfried and stood up for himself, which I really respected. I feel anyone who has a passion-led career will need to know when to assert themselves, especially when your heart is bigger than your brain.

I loved the developing romance between Helen Alderson (played by Rachel Shenton) and James; their subtle yet very obvious chemistry is electrifying and I was just on the edge of my seat waiting for the moment they declared their love to each other.

In the second episode I was also enjoying the amused eye contact between the characters when one was flirting with another character. The way Mrs Hall (played by Anna Madeley), Tristan (played by Callum Woodhouse), Siegfried (played by Samuel West) and James playfully teased each other throughout the series made me laugh so much.

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Tristan’s lovable charm was very infectious and I also enjoyed seeing him in a more serious tone whilst trying to make his brother proud. Seeing Siegfried’s softer side when he gave Tristan more responsibilities and apologised for hiding the fact that Tristan had failed his course was also profoundly enjoyable.

It was nice to see Mrs Hall in a romantic setting with one of James’s patient’s owners. I find her character very comforting. She always has a way with words and knows what to do in a crisis situation. But it was nice that for once, she was doing something that made her happy instead of always doing things for others.

The most poignant episode for me was the third when James supported a young widow, Mrs Dalby (played by Amy Nuttall), with her herd of cows. During this episode I was taken on an emotional rollercoaster; the farming storyline intertwined with the burgeoning romance between James and Helen. I learnt more about her childhood and what it’s like to come from a farming family, the responsibilities, the loyalty, the attachment, the hard work.

My father came from a farming background too and I have learnt a lot about what it was like for him and his family but I never knew the extent of it for British farmers. It turns out the main pillars are the same. Their farm is their livelihood and their means of survival but it’s more than that. Their lives are baked into it. It’s like leaving your childhood home behind, it feels like leaving a piece of yourself behind too.

What I respected about the series was that James and Helen could have easily got together in the second episode during the Daffodil Ball, but they didn’t. They didn’t even share their first kiss on their first date, this was the moment they learnt more about each other. We got to learn more about Helen’s upbringing, her fierce commitment to her father and younger sister in the absence of her mother and her fierce protection of their farm. This wasn’t just a piece of land, it was her entire being.

It was only until James understood where she was coming from, that Darrowby is her home, that he fell in love with her and that moment at the end of the episode when they shared a kiss on top of her roof was beautiful. I was crying a lot during this series - I’m not afraid to admit it.

I also really enjoyed watching Tristan go from a ‘devil-may-care’ attitude to a committed vet trying to prove to his brother that he was capable of every task thrown at him. I loved seeing him succeed. He struck me as the kind of man that could do anything he put his mind to, but we did see him doubt himself a lot; I can relate to that. There are so many times in my life when I underestimated myself and it took a lot of work to liberate myself from these limited boxes. Watching Tristan do the same was very satisfying.

Normally I would say that James and Helen got engaged too quickly, but this was a different time and I really believe that they fit well together. Sometimes it’s not about how long you’ve known someone, it’s how much you’ve learnt about them in a certain period of time. And they achieved all of this during episode three. James decided to stay in Darrowby instead of moving back to Glasgow.

I had mixed feelings about this. Whilst I loved seeing James in Yorkshire and watching him flourish with the locals and his relationship with Helen, I completely empathised with his mother when she found out he was engaged and staying there. She had this mix of being happy for him that he is happy and at the same time very sad that he was leaving them behind. I understand this as I come from a close knit family and I felt the same way when I left home to go to university. It’s another emotional rollercoaster.

I grew a lot of respect for Hugh (played by Matthew Lewis) during this series too. It was such an emotional moment when he told the Alderson family that the farm would be in Helen and Jenny’s name so they could inherit it. The looks on their faces made my heart melt. I do hope Hugh and the rest of the crew become friends in the end.

The end of the series was perfect; the group in the pub drinking to the engagement, Tristan making an outrageously funny joke: ‘So Helen, do you think you’ll be able to go through with it this time?’ and the door closing to the sign: ‘Animals Welcome People Tolerated’. What a perfect Yorkshire ending.