All Creatures Great and Small Series 5: This is when the new season will air on Channel 5

Series five, which was made on location in the Yorkshire Dales between February and June earlier this year, will launch on Channel 5 on Thursday, September 19, at 9pm.

Fans will be especially eager to see the return of Callum Woodhouse, later in the series, as Tristan Farnon, the mischievous brother of head vet Siegfried, played by Samuel West. Tristan has been serving in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps when he makes an unexpected return to Darrowby.

Back for the fifth series is Nicholas Ralph as new father and vet James Herriot, Anna Madeley returns as housekeeper and matriarch of Skeldale House, Mrs Hall, and Rachel Shenton is back as Helen Herriot, new mum to baby Jimmy, who was born at the end of series four in the Christmas Special, which also saw James make a return from his RAF training to see the new baby (although he was not in time for the birth, viewers will recall).

James Anthony-Rose also reappears as quirky young trainee vet Richard Carmody. Also returning is Patricia Hodge as Mrs Pumphrey of Pumphrey Hall (which is filmed at Broughton Hall near Skipton), and her adored pampered Pekingese Tricki.

Former Emmerdale actor Tony Pitts is back as Helen’s father, Richard Alderson, and Harrogate’s own Imogen Clawson is back as Helen’s younger sister, Jenny. The Alderson farm, Heston Grange, is filmed at Yockenthwaite in the Yorkshire Dales.

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Other All Creatures Great and Smal locations that fans will be looking forward to revisiting include Arncliffe, Hubberholme, and, of course, Grassington, which was used again as Darrowby, home of Skeldale House, where the vets live and work (Helen and James live in the bedsit on the top floor).

Crowds flocked to see the filming in June this year of the Christmas episode, which took place on one of the hottest days of the year, with cast now joking that it would not be an All Creatures Christmas without sweltering temperatures to contend with.

Series five will continue to bring to life the stories of James Herriot, which was the pen name of real-life Thirsk vet Alf Wight. The Channel 5 adaptation has the approval of Alf Wight’s children, Rosie Page and Jim Wight.

Made by Playground, All Creatures Great and Small has become a staple in the Channel 5 schedule, continuing to be the channel’s most popular series. Series 4, which aired from October 2023, saw 4.4 million viewers tune in across the series run, and the series grew its audience share further.

Brian Percival (All Creatures Great and Small, Dark Angel) returns as Lead Director and Executive Producer of episodes one and two, Stewart Svaasand (Tin Star, Outlander) returns to direct episodes three and four, and Andy Hay (All Creatures Great and Small, The Last Kingdom) will direct Episodes five, six and the Christmas Special.

Yvonne Francas (The Syndicate, Our Girl) also returns as Producer. Also returning for series five are writers Debbie O’Malley, Maxine Alderton, Matt Evans and Robin French.