All Creatures Great and Small season 7: Actors speak out about new storylines set in James Herriot’s Yorkshire Dales

Nicholas Ralph, who plays James Herriot, says: “We open with James in London, where he is giving a talk at the Royal Veterinary College. It’s an incredible honour and shows just how far he has come in ten years.

“Closer to home, the arrival of Granville Bennett with his flash car and his flash practice. He seems to have it all … so James is feeling a little bit left behind.

“Jimmy has his first day at school. Another milestone. We filmed this gorgeous little scene, and the whole house gets him ready.

“There is a big cow story later in the series involving a procedure that has hardly been done. It’s in textbooks, but there are very few cases to learn from. It doesn’t go quite to plan, but it’s James and Siegfried, me and Sam, stripped to the waist, covered in mud and gunk.

“It was freezing and we were filthy, but we were really happy with how it went. It’s a classic All Creatures storyline, and one from the books.”

Rachel Shenton (Helen Herriot) talks about meeting with sister Jenny (Imogen Clawson) who is training to be a nurse in London.

“There are gorgeous moments when Helen looks at her and takes it all in as Jenny says things, because she’s so much her own woman now.

“We’re in 1946, on the precipice of a new era. Although rationing is still very much there, there’s a sense of unity and hope at the start of this series.”

Rachel loves working with the children, Jimmy (Thomas Riches) and Rosie (Isabella Ward): “They’re cracking little actors and know exactly what they’re doing. Bella knew all the lingo by the end of it, saying things like “Bella stepping out!” when she had finished filming on set.”

Samuel West says Siegfried Farnon begins series seven in a good place: “He’s got a new girlfriend and he’s enjoying his work.

“There’s a challenge that arrives fairly early on, which is the presence of a new vet in town. My father would have called it ‘old stag and young stag’. When he turns up, he looks annoyingly like me, but younger and better.”

Look out for Siegfried’s horse storylines: “For reasons that will have to remain secret until you see that episode, Siegfried has a very emotional and close relationship with a horse.”

Ah, but Dorothy? “I think we’re in the honeymoon period,” Sam says. “We’re dating, we’re walking out and it’s lovely. We don’t have exactly similar tastes, but we’re willing to indulge one another. Even when she dismisses Gilbert and Sullivan, I’m going, ‘Well, that’s interesting.’ I think it’s all great until I start taking her for granted.

“Playing with Maimie was a real pleasure. It seems extraordinary that she was away for five years, from Series 1 to Series 6. It was like she’d hardly been away. She’s extraordinarily good, I loved working with her and we had some very good scenes together.”

And Mrs Hall? “I think ‘evolve’ is the right word,” Sam says. “I’m not sure if it necessarily progresses, but it does evolve.

“She wants the relationship to work for her own reasons. When I’m neglectful of Dorothy, she’s annoyed, as she would be and as she should be. That puts a strain on our relationship, but it should. It leaves me disappointing her, which I don’t like, obviously.”

Anna Madeley, who plays Mrs Hall, also loves working with the children. “They bring a lightness and joy with their natural curiosity; you just have to roll with what comes,” she says. “They are great - as are their mums!”

Mrs Hall is now Mrs Pumphrey’s right-hand woman at the WI. “Their relationship is lovely, coming from different places but with a shared value of how important community is.

“There is also a lovely storyline with Maggie becoming part of the WI and a little friendship has blossomed there. Maggie is now a single mum trying to bring up her little boy on her own which is very hard and relatable for Mrs Hall.”

And Dorothy? “It is a gift for Mrs Hall to have Dorothy back. She is such a brilliant character, and Maimie is so lovely, so it’s a lot of fun working with her as well.”

But Dorothy and Siegfried? “She sees these two people who she cares deeply about in different ways and sees that there is something that might make them both happy, so does her best to serve that.

“If they are happy together, that makes her happy. She slightly takes herself out of the equation and allows them to have their time ... an eye-opener in some ways, because Mrs Hall sees the relationship from both sides in a way she hasn’t before.”

Callum Woodhouse says Tristan has moved up … “into the top attic room, which he’s very happy about - at first.”

His storylines reflect the man he’s become - “still very funny, mischievous and silly at times but also incredibly emotionally intelligent and astute to the feelings of the owners of the animals he treats,” he says.

“Some of my later storylines are my favourite. There’s a thread with a barber later on that Tristan has a run in with and ends up needing to treat his dog.

Charlotte? “Tristan and Charlotte are still very much going strong. It’s great to see Tristan have a romantic storyline that lasts longer than his previous ones.

“There’s a lot I’m excited for audiences to see but the specific ones I’m excited for are absolutely massive spoilers, so I won’t say anything.”

All Creatures Great and Small returns to 5 on Thursday, September 17, at 9pm.