Exclusive first look at All Creatures Great and Small festive special

Exclusive first look at All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special: Wedding bells are ringing in Yorkshire as Rachel Shendon’s Helen prepares to marry Hugh – but will James Herriot stop the big day?

  • EXCLUSIVE: All Creatures Great and Small will return to screens this Christmas
  • First trailer shows locals getting ready for Helen (Rachel Shendon’s) wedding to Hugh, played by Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis and a heartbroken lead James
  • Show was a smash hit original drama for Channel 5 bringing in 4.7M viewers 

After a blockbuster first season which set records for Channel 5 with an audience of nearly five million, All Creatures Great and Small will return for a Christmas special this year.

And in an exclusive first trailer seen by Femail, series heartthrobs Rachel Shenton and Matthew Lewis tie the knot, despite her being the love interest of lead James Herriot.        

The Christmas special, and subsequent season two, sees Nicholas Ralph returns to the role of vet James Herriot who became renowned for his inspiring compassion, humour and love of life while his mentor Samuel West (Mr. Selfridge, On Chesil Beach) is Siegfried Farnon, the wonderfully capricious veterinary surgeon and proprietor of Skeldale House.  


Will they or won’t they? The trailer see locals get ready for Helne (left) and Hugh (Matthew Lewis’s, right) wedding. But James has to put his feelings aside 

Mrs Hall, the resident housekeeper and matriarch of Skeldale House, is played by Anna Madeley (Patrick Melrose, Deadwater Fell), while  Siegfried’s errant and charismatic younger brother, Tristan, is played by Callum Woodhouse (The Durrells) and Rachel Shenton (Switched at Birth, White Gold) takes the role of the beautiful  Helen Alderson, an independent local farmer’s daughter who helps her father manage the family farm and looks after her younger sister.

The trailer shows the Yorkshire village celebrating Christmas Eve and the day before Helen and Hugh’s much anticipated wedding. 

James is trying to bury his pain over Helen and has invited his new girlfriend Connie to the annual Skeldale Christmas party and preparations are well under way.

Tristan has decked the halls with mistletoe and Mrs Hall has laid on a feast and is looking forward to her son Edward returning for Christmas. 

Mrs Hall, the resident housekeeper and matriarch of Skeldale House, is played by Anna Madeley (left) while Samuel Westm right,  (Mr. Selfridge, On Chesil Beach) is Siegfried Farnon,

Siegfried is delighted when Dorothy turns up and wonders if now is the time to throw caution to the wind.

As the house fills with locals James receives a call from Bert Chapman who wants help with his dog who is struggling to give birth. 

James has to leave the party and is surprised when Helen asks if she can go with him to get away from all the wedding gossip. James wonders if he will be able to suppress his true feelings for her.

The trailer also sees a group of children in a nativity as the village celebrates a Christmas wedding

Discussing the festive showing, executive producer Colin Callender told Femail: ‘I’m thrilled Channel 5 have given us the opportunity to head back to Darrowby for an All Creatures Great and Small Christmas Special. 

‘After a tumultuous 2020, I can’t think of a better way to ring in the new year than a trip to the Yorkshire Dales. And this turns out to be a busy holiday season for our beloved Skeldale family as James is called out in the middle of the night with unintended consequences, Siegfried conjures up his rusty dating skills, Tristan hosts a group of kids dressed as an elf, and Mrs. Hall cooks a Christmas dinner which will be the envy of every family across the country!’

Executive producer Melissa Gallant added: ‘This series was an absolute joy to make and we’re delighted to be taking the audience on one more trip to the Dales this Winter for a very fitting end to the series. Ben Vanstone has written the perfect Christmas treat to warm hearts and lift spirits just when we’ll need it most’. 

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