Remember me
The show he stars in is set in a bygone era when people lived simpler, more wholesome lives.
However, Scots actor Nicholas Ralph has spoken of his pride after discovering All Creatures Great and Small played a vital role in the smooth operation of one of humanity’s greatest technological achievements.
The comedy/drama was played repeatedly by Nasa astronaut Sunita Williams when a technical fault saw her and crewmate Butch Wilmore stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months.
Ms Williams, who finally made it back to Earth in March, said the show was one of the things that supported her mental health during her lengthy stint 250 miles above the planet.
In an interview with a US radio station while she was still onboard the ISS, she said: ‘We have some favourite TV shows, particularly when I’m working out.
‘All Creatures Great and Small is one of my favourites. I watch an episode while I’m riding the bike usually.’
Commenting on it, Ralph, who plays the show’s titular character James Herriot, said: ‘To be played on the International Space Station, that’s incredibly cool.’
His space-based fame is just one of the many surprises the 35-year-old actor, from Nairn, has enjoyed since taking up the role in 2020.
Based on the books written by Scottish vet-turned-author Alf Wight, who wrote under the pen name James Herriot, it is one of Britain’s most enduring and best-loved sagas.
The popular comedy drama was watched by astronauts on the International Space Station
Nasa astronaut Sunita Williams said she watched the show after a technical fault saw her and crewmate Butch Wilmore stranded on the International Space Station(ISS) for nine months
Wright was born in Sunderland but moved to Glasgow as a child. He graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College in 1939 before working as a vet in Yorkshire for 50 years.
His semi-autobiographical stories sold 80 million copies and were immortalised in the original TV show which turned British actors such as Christopher Timothy and Peter Davison into household names.
The remake, which also stars Samuel West as Siegfried Farnon, Callum Woodhouse as Tristan Farnon and Rachel Shenton as Helen Herriot, is one of Channel 5’s most watched programmes, achieving record viewing figures of five million at its peak.
However, it isn’t just Brits that have taken a shine to the show, which follows Herriot’s work in the Yorkshire Dales during the 1930s and 40s.
Popular in the US, it counts Stephen Colbert among its stateside fans, with the chat show host even discussing his love of it with some of the Hollywood stars he’s interviewed.
Ralph and other members of the cast have even been flown out to Los Angeles several times to take part in fan events.
He said: ‘If you said to me when we started that a period drama set in the 30s and 40s in Yorkshire and Hollywood would have any sort of connection, I would say you were mad, but apparently, they do.
‘One event was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and we sold out our venue.
‘Another time [US broadcaster] PBS, which co-produces the show with Channel 5, took us out to the Los Angeles Zoo, and they did a screening, a premiere of Series 4.
As part of that event, Ralph and co-star Ms Shenton, who plays his on-screen wife Helen, posed for photos with fans – an opportunity that proved hugely popular.
Ralph said: ‘The queue to get a picture was snaking down the zoo, it really was just kind of surreal to be honest with you.’
The show was the first TV role for Ralph, who had worked in theatre after graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2017. But it could all have been different if Ralph, who was a promising young footballer in his youth, had pursued a career in sport. He had played football with Ross County through the levels and as a junior with Nairn County.
The remake of All Creatures Great and Small is one of Channel 5’s most watched programmes, achieving record viewing figures of five million at its peak
Based on the books written by Scottish vet-turned-author Alf Wight, who wrote under the pen name James Herriot, it is one of Britain’s most enduring and best-loved sagas
However, he was determined to become an actor – even if his teachers weren’t sold on the idea.
Ralph recalled: ‘At the end of secondary school I said to my guidance teacher “I want to be an actor” and she laughed.
‘So then I went to my English teacher, who did amateur dramatics, and I said, “I want to be an actor”. And he said, “you don’t want to be an actor. You’ll end up living out of the back of your car. It’s a terrible career choice”.
Luckily for him, his choice paid off. And there’s much more to come, with Ralph hinting at an appearance in another popular British show next year.
Sworn to secrecy, all he would say was: ‘It’s a well-known period drama. What I can tease is that the character’s very different from James Herriot. I’ll leave it at that.’
What is guaranteed is his ongoing role in All Creatures Great and Small, which has secured its future with renewals for series seven and eight. The cast have worked with a huge ensemble of animal co-stars, including a two-tonne bull the actors had to evade when it decided to go for a run.
Ralph said he and his cast-mates parted ‘like the Red Sea’ and watched on as the show’s on-set vet, who was holding the holster for the animal, was pulled across the field like he was ‘water skiing’.
He also said he loved working with the show’s long-running animal character Tricki Woo, ‘played’ by a Pekingese dog called Derek.
One memorable scene saw him anaesthetise Tricki Woo, with Ralph saying Derek closed his eyes and put his head down at the perfect point.
He added: ‘Maybe he needed a nap, but still, incredible timing.’
The show offers a nostalgic look at rural life. That heartwarming element will be ever-present in its festive special, to be broadcast on Channel 5 on Christmas Eve.
Discussing it, Ralph, who plans to spend his own Christmas back with his family in Nairn, said: ‘It’s filled with all that wonderful community spirit, love for one another, the animals, and kindness at the forefront.’
All Creatures Great & Small: Christmas Special is on Christmas Eve at 9pm, following All Creatures Great & Small: Behind the Scenes at 8pm. Watch and Stream on 5.