The Yorkshire Post says: Thirsk for more! Realism of reality television
WHAT a legacy. Almost 40 years after the inaugural episode of All Creatures Great and Small was broadcast on January 8, 1978, the public's affection for Thirsk, the quaint market town that inspired vet Alf Wight to create the James Herriot series, remains as great as ever.
Not only is Wight’s former surgery a popular tourism attraction, but The Yorkshire Vet, the acclaimed Channel 5 series that chronicles the work of The Yorkshire Post’s columnist Julian Norton, and co-star Peter Wright, has also led to an upsurge in visitor numbers as a new generation of fans become fascinated, and comforted, by the devotion shown towards animals.
At a time when the world at large appears obsessed with a daily diet of reality television shows which have to be exaggerated for effect and entertainment, these programmes will endure because they offer such a realistic portrayal of country life. And, because of this, Thirsk will always be known as the home of reality TV at its golden best.