Filming set to begin next year in the Yorkshire Dales for a second series of All Creatures Great and Small

All Creatures Great and Small will return for a second series of six episodes, Channel 5 announced today, with the production crew and stars preparing to return to shoot on location in the Yorkshire Dales next year as they continue the love and life story of young vet James Herriot.

The life-affirming tales led to a critically acclaimed debut on Channel 5, with the series pulling in 4.7million viewers, with an additional 1million tuning in for the Sunday repeats, making it the channel’s highest rating launch for a drama commission ever.

Channnel 5 says that the new adaptation from BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning production company Playground (Howards End, Wolf Hall) will return for a further six episodes, plus another Christmas special for 2021. The production will receive funding and support from Screen Yorkshire. MASTERPIECE on PBS in the US will co-produce and all3Media International is the global partner.

Viewers can expect more heartwarming adventures featuring young country vet James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) as he joins his unconventional mentor, Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West), matriarch of Skeldale House Mrs Hall (Anna Madeley), Siegfried’s errant brother Tristan (Callum Woodhouse), and independent local farmer’s daughter Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton), alongside a characterful ensemble of farmers, animals and townsfolk living in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930s. Grassington is used for the filming of Darrowby. The announcement of when the 2020 All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special will air is expected soon.

Sebastian Cardwell, Channel 5 deputy director of Programmes, ViacomCBS Networks UK, said: “In challenging times, this new adaptation gained a special place in the heart of the British public. With values of community spirit, solidarity and heart-felt compassion, these stories are important ones for us to tell, now more than ever. I’m delighted that we will be seeing more of James and his Darrowby family when they return to our screens soon.”

Executive producer Caroline Cooper Charles, head of Creative at Screen Yorkshire, says: “In an uncertain world, the warmth and charm of All Creatures Great and Small and its delicious cast of characters is comfort food for the soul. Screen Yorkshire is delighted to have invested in both series and can’t wait to welcome the production team back to Yorkshire for more fantastic and uplifting stories from Darrowby.”

James Alfred Wight OBE FRCVS was a veterinary surgeon who graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College at the age of 23. He headed to a veterinary practice in Thirsk, Yorkshire, in 1940 where he fell in love with the Dales and the woman he would marry, Joan Danbury. Wight later wrote stories based on his own adventures as a young country vet, under the pen name James Herriot. Herriot quickly became one of Britain’s best-loved authors.

“We thought Series 1 of the new All Creatures Great and Small was excellent. It was an immensely enjoyable adaptation of Dad’s books, very professionally acted and produced, and absolutely true to the ‘Herriot ethos’”. Jim Wight and Rosie Page, Wight’s children say. “We have had wonderful feedback from many and various people, from all walks of life, telling us how they had derived great comfort from watching the new series in these stressful Covid times. We are very hopeful that Series 2 will be equally uplifting and entertaining, and we are greatly looking forward to seeing it.”

“Working with Channel 5, all3Media International, Masterpiece and Screen Yorkshire on the first series has been an absolute joy,” says Colin Callender, executive producer and CEO of Playground. “All Creatures Great and Small has struck such a chord with audiences worldwide who were hungry for an entertaining, family-friendly show that provided some respite from the complicated and messy times we live in. We’re very excited to return home to our family at Skeldale House and to transport viewers back to Darrowby for more veterinary antics in the Yorkshire Dales.”

Executive Producer Louise Pedersen, CEO of all3Media International, says: “The international reception to this series has been tremendously positive – and we are very proud that so many territories in Asia, Europe and the Americas have fallen for the charms of this wonderful drama.”

Never out of print, the books have sold 60 million copies internationally becoming a global cultural phenomenon with devoted fans around the world