Original subtitles

I'm Graham Hall, and welcome to All Creatures Great and Small, Behind the

I can hardly believe it's been six years. You probably know me as the

always running around after dogs behaving very badly.

Now one thing you might not know about me is that I'm an All Creatures Great

Small superfan. Wow, quite walking into the 1940s.

So when I got the call... Hello, Darabee 2297?

with an offer to go behind the scenes and see how the all -creature's magic is

made. Mr.

Arius! To spend time with Callum Woodhouse, who plays Tristan Farnham.

Tristan! Good tidings in this time of festive merriment.

And hear from the rest of the cast.

It's been an amazing journey.

Including the animals, and even be allowed to take on my first ever acting

in the show itself.

That'll do, won't it? I jumped at the chance.

So come and join me as I travel to the glorious Yorkshire Dales to discover

of the secrets behind one of the nation's favourite shows.

Up in the Dales, surrounded by those hills, there's no place on earth like

I've driven 200 miles from where I live to visit the home of all creatures great

and small, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, where a team of hundreds of

come together to make the show.

Today... I'm going to be taking on my first ever acting role.

Now, I'm used to playing myself on television.

But if I'm going to play a character from the 40s, I'm going to need some

serious acting tips.

Fortunately, actor Callum Woodhouse is on hand to help.

Tristan!

I'm literally three feet away from you.

Callum plays Tristan Farner, the charming and often mischievous younger

of Siegfried.

Hello. You're new.

What'll it be?

Now, I need to talk to Callum, but first, I need to find him.

Rumour has it he's in the make -up truck with his friend Lenny.

Hello, mate. How you doing? Nice to meet you, mate. Very nice to meet you. This

is Lenny getting his make -up done as well.

Hello, Lenny.

He's a good boy.

He wants to be on camera, look.

Always find your shot. That's some good acting tips, actually. Always find the

camera. Is that right?

Always know where the camera is. That's what he's doing, yeah.

What does it take to turn you into Tristan? Quite a long time, actually.

Is it? Yeah, yeah. I think the main thing is just sorting out sort of

mess my hair is in in the morning.

Yeah, your hair's quite different. It's very, yeah, windswept and interesting is

how I'd describe it. So let's talk about acting because I've only ever played

me.

So, I've got this cameo you've probably heard of. Yeah, yeah. I haven't even

seen the line yet.

Have you got a line?

I've got a line. Oh, wow.

That's amazing.

Apparently, they've never trusted anybody else with a line. No, they

Tips.

Tips, yeah.

I mean, you've just got some really good ones off Lenny there. Always find the

camera, always find the light.

Because I went to drama school, so we did three years of learning how to

breathe. See, that's what I'm worried about. You had three years.

I've got about half an hour.

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

Play it as Graham Hall, but imagine he's in the 40s. Right.

Good answer. Yeah, yeah.

I think you'll be fine. Fine. Yeah, you'll be good. Righto.

Great chat.

Callum's helped to reassure me. I just need to be me in the 1940s.

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? As I left Callum, I wondered what the cast

made of each other when they first met at the beginning of this journey.

My first impression of my cast members, first of all, they were absolutely

lovely. I'm Farman. Pete Creed.

Don't ask.

I'm James. I met Rach throughout the audition process. We did the chemistry

reads. Oh.

Hold this one for me.

He was the first cast member that I met, and we got on like a health and fire

straight away.

And at the end, I said, is there anyone you naturally... I think he had rapport

with and enjoyed working with, and the first name I said was Rachel Shenton.

Helen. Head it, James.

I remember a train journey up to Yorkshire where I was super nervous.

If I remember rightly, I'd met Nick, or I was sat with Nick, and then Cal joined

us. I remember thinking he's hilarious.

Tristan!

Then, before I saw those two, I saw Sam.

I sort of smiled at him in such a way that he sort of side -eyed me and smiled

at me, and I think he might have thought that I probably fancied him or

something. And it was ever so slightly awkward for a minute until I plucked up

the courage to say, I'm in the show with you. He didn't obviously have a clue

who I was. Secret.

Here's a list of everything we're short of, and this is a surplus.

You did all this? I've been a fan of Sam for years. I've always really, really

admired his work, and so I was quite nervous to meet him.

First impressions of Nick and Rachel were absolutely fantastic. We just got

so quickly.

Whatever you heard, it's not true. I didn't do it.

By like the end of the first night, we were best mates.

I met Anna as Mrs. Hall first before I met her as Anna, which was really funny.

It was the scene where I hear there's noise out in the shed in the middle of

night and go out with the cricket bat and I find an inebriated Jane.

In the animal shed. So that was my first meeting of Nick.

Mr. Harriet, what on earth are you doing?

Feeding the cats.

When Anna was cast, which was after the read -through, I thought,

ah, this is going to work.

And Anna is just the luckiest woman who's ever existed.

That's the last jigsaw piece of a very nice little five -piece puzzle.

I think that really fits well.

Six years later, the puzzle is still very much in place.

After the break, I'll be continuing my Access All Areas experience with a tour

of the set, and then heading for a costume fitting and rehearsals to

my starring role.

Nervous? Me?

Don't know what you're talking about.

Welcome back to All Creatures Great and Small Behind the Magic, where I take you

behind the scenes of the show to reveal how it's really made.

Now, it's almost time for me to swap me denim for me tweed, but first, Callum's

offered to show me round the set and let me into a few of its secrets.

Skeldale House. Skeldale House. Yeah.

You ready for a tour?

Yeah, certainly can. You can't believe that's in a studio, can you? No.

So, the whole interior of Skeldale House is built in a studio and made to look

and feel every bit like a house from the 1940s.

On this studio tour, Skeldale's very own golden retriever, Jeff, real name

Ernie, is joining us.

He's quite the celebrity on all creatures.

These are the two exam rooms. I would say Tristan probably spends more of his

time in here, so I'm trying not to kill birds.

What are you up to? Mrs H, you do have a suspicious mind.

It's not what it looks like.

Is he a dead budgie? Yes.

Then it's exactly what it looks like.

Actually... You put him in a drawer, didn't you? I think I put him in this

drawer here.

Only Tristan can get himself into that kind of affair. And only Tristan can get

himself out of it as well.

It is, Peter.

But he never used to be able to cheat.

This is obviously our living room. The sitting room. Yeah, we've got that

amazing little prop there, which is Tricky Moose shares long. Of course.

I associate those two chairs with Siegfried and James drinking whiskey at

end of a long day. Yeah, or him smoking his pipe.

Right.

I think it's our patriotic duty to finish the bottle, don't you?

And this is into our dining room. Right.

Tristan does a lot of eating.

Yeah. The first thing we do is that episode when Siegfried and James have

been fed by the farmers that they've both been to, and Mrs Hall has made this

huge meal and no -one can eat it.

Well, Mrs Hall, this is certainly a lot of food.

And then Tristan comes in and he's like, Tristan to the rescue. Anything to help

you, Siegfried?

Speaking of, this is the famous Siegfried's office.

So it is. Got a little photo of Tristan as well in his army uniform. There we

go. Yeah, there's a hint, see? He was proud of you, really.

This is my absolute favourite room of the house.

The dispensary. The dispensary.

So this is being organised expertly by Tristan with his newfound military

discipline. Right.

What on earth?

The only way to dig out the weed is to take hold of it by the root.

Right. The dispensary is home to 1 ,600 bottles, all filled with various

concoctions. Olive oil, bubble bath.

washing up liquid cordial and food colourings. I just love this room. I

love all the different bottles and colours and things like props like

This is how you would give sheep or goats like a medicine or whatever. They

it out of that.

Yeah, it's just things like that. I just think it's such an amazing prop.

See the scullery.

Very good.

This is a really great room. I just associate this room with...

Full English breakfast.

It's always a very funny day on set when we do full English breakfast days,

because we'll have, like, a little bit of a sausage or a bit of fried egg, and

then we need to reset so a new sausage gets brought in. For each breakfast

scene, they require a whopping 60 rashers, 60 sausages, 30 pieces of black

pudding, and eggs on demand.

And when the scene gets completed, all the crew rush in and start hand

everything.

And if the crew don't get to eat all of it, I know somebody who will.

There we go, that was Skeldale.

One of the memories that never quite leaves me is the first time I walked

Skeldale House.

Jackie Smith's design to make sure that the house was not only real but

interesting.

All of it, the wallpapers, the flooring, the...

Everything had been made slightly dirty, so nothing was pristine. Everything was

lived in and used and loved.

The level of detail, it's just, it's incredible. You really do get

You are stepping into the 1940s with the incredible set, so you just feel like

you're in the 40s. Charming little house, so compact and functional.

The attention to detail is amazing on all creatures greater than small. Now,

whether that's the set that I've just seen for myself, or the thousands of

which are stored in an enormous warehouse, including glassware,

silverware, furniture, prosthetics, and the costumes designed by Ros Little and

her team, who fit well over 300 per series.

I need to visit Ros in the costume truck to find the best outfit for my little

cameo. I wonder what he's got in mind.

So what have we got here then, Ros?

Well, we've got a suit for you from the 1940s. It's not an actual 1940s suit.

It's a replica of a 1940s suit. But I thought...

This is great, but maybe it's a little bit too smart for the character you're

going to play.

So I found a lovely pharaoh.

This is one of our top ones. I thought that this would be very nice. Oh, very

old creatures, that. Very old creatures.

Yeah, right. Thank you. So here you are. Good luck. In you go. I shall reappear

as the 1940s.

All right.

Ta -da! How about that?

Only my tummy doesn't quite fit in me waistband.

Don't worry, we'll look at the back to find a bit of space there.

Other than that... Yeah, your glasses.

Ah, yeah.

I'm sorry, but you won't be able to wear them. Can you see without them?

Is that that?

Yes, I can.

With help from Ros, and now Nicola from Makeup, I've really looked the part.

But can I act the part?

We've got to drive through Heriot country to get there, haven't we? We

Right. Very good.

Let's go then.

It's time to head over to the filming location to meet director Andy Hay.

I'm hoping this scenic journey will help me get into character.

Imagine James Heriot back in the day in a 1930s box hall, I think it is, driving

down these little roads with farm tracks, all weathered.

No sat -nav. No sat -nav.

No heater, probably.

It's a fearsome place in winter, I tell you.

Marvellous. You won't be saying that when the snow's eight foot deep. This

of the world is known as God's own country.

And I can see why, with scenery like this, no wonder the castle is coming

here year after year.

The Dales are certainly, they're a character unto themselves.

The ruralness, the ruggedness of it, and also the stunning beauty.

At times, it's kind of got it all. I love it here.

James came from this very, you know, urban, industrial Glasgow.

Getting the train into the Yorkshire Dales, it's absolutely breathtaking.

There's no other way to describe it.

I've never been to a location and gone, yeah, this isn't very good.

It's impossible not to be excited by going to work.

The drive to work in the morning never gets old. I look out the window like, I

can't believe we get to do it in this.

I think my favourite's unpopular, but it's York and Dwight, which is where

Heston Grange is, and it's unpopular for the reasons, just logistics, really.

It's kind of in the middle of nowhere. It's got its own weather system.

I absolutely love it.

It's where all of Helen's most important scenes are shot, and it's so remote and

beautiful.

So the actual filming of the first kiss between James and Helen, I remember the

day well.

It was really raining. It was kind of miserable. We thought, oh, no, that's

quite what we'd imagined, and we were just about to shoot it, and the clouds

parted and the sun shone, and it was perfect.

We got up onto that roof.

Rach was there, connected to the harness, sat already, and I climbed up a

ladder, joined her, and then got connected up with the harness, and we

to film the scene.

Nick and I had gone through what we wanted it to feel like and what we

the viewers to feel like, and it was much anticipated.

We felt like the audience were going, yes, come on, these two have got to get

together.

We just had that 90 minutes, one hour break and we managed to get it all

and it was just, well, it was perfect.

The response was lovely, we couldn't have asked for anything better.

Today's location is a showground in Pateley Bridge in North Yorkshire, which

been transformed into a dog racing track.

Oh, thank you.

It took a design team of over 20 people to create the outdoor set in order to

time travel back to the 1940s.

Hey, and let's not forget the groundsman who needs to keep the grass soft for

little paws to run on.

I think this is the set bit. Now, what I'm hoping is I can find the director

because I'm a bit nervous now, if I'm honest.

I want to examine that dog again. He's done his race.

I know.

We're here to film a special scene in which James Herriot, played by Nicholas

Ralph, has to deal with an injury.

But this time, it's a human one and not an animal. There's an injury I need you

to look at.

And I'm going to be the theme.

Andy, nice to meet you. You're right.

Can you please shave and... I don't know. What have you got to

watch on?

I have, but it's a 1940s one. Can we set the time for you? It goes 12 .45.

Fabulous. Everything on set is made to look and feel authentic.

However, the ice cream was made from instant buttercream icing left to dry

week until hardened.

The beer isn't real.

It's alcohol -free ale or sometimes a soft drink.

But the sandwiches are real.

I'll tell you what, though. Isn't this heat?

I think I'll give him a miss.

Yeah, of course you can.

Tracy, nice to meet you.

We'll just go over to Andy if that's okay.

Ambrose.

Hello, mate. Nice to meet you.

You're a great drunk, and not many people can do that.

Come here.

That's it.

Filming involves lots of moving parts, many takes, and several camera angles.

As you can see, they've repositioned the camera, so you do have to set it up a

couple of times, and then they're...

They're picking up different things. So they're picking up you boys, then

they're picking up Ambrose here and his knee, then they're picking up me and my

reaction to it. So, yeah, there's a lot I was into.

Let's just have a look at the shooting kit.

The stunt coordinator is also on hand to help the director and ensure nobody

actually gets injured.

So you can just kick it past there.

And you want the eye, that'll do right, before the kick, don't you? Yeah, I

think let's just do the dialogue and we'll work exactly where it goes.

Yeah.

Hey, well, I had one line and I was already on it, but I've been given a

extra line, which goes like this.

Aye, that'll do, aye.

It's Ambrose here. He's had a nasty fall.

Nice.

And you've knocked a bit of skin off that, so it needs cleaning.

You like whiskey, do you?

No,

not too quick. Don't rush it. Don't rush it.

We've done a couple of rehearsals. First one was a bit too quick.

So we were told to slow down.

All I've got to do now is not mess up the line they've given me.

You like whisky, yeah?

Oh aye, that'll do, aye.

Hey, you don't get that trouble from your animals, do you?

Hello, mate.

How's it been going?

I've been finished filming, yeah, yeah. I'm just coming to watch you act now.

Just to add another one. I've come to see your close -up, yeah.

Welcome to the world of filming.

That's great.

There's so much more in the scene now than was on the page. It's brilliant.

After the break, I'll make my acting debut and then take you back in time to

Darabee. or the market town of Grattington, as it's known around here.

Welcome back to All Creatures Great and Small Behind the Magic.

Before taking you to the iconic location of Grattington, I mean Darrowby, I'm

about to make my acting debut on a 1940s dog race track.

I bet you don't get this trouble with your animals.

Get nice and quiet, please.

Rehearsals are over. Now it's time to film the thing for real.

It's Ambrose here. He's had a nasty fall.

I'm a vet.

I'm not a doctor.

Well, we don't have a doctor, Mr.

Harriet. You can patch him up, can't you? I don't want him getting blood

poisoning. What would happen to me bar takings then, Ambrose?

Here.

Catch it.

You've knocked a bit of skin off, that's all.

You need cleaning.

You like whiskey, do you?

Oh, that'll do, aye.

I bet you don't get this much trouble from the animals.

Cut.

Thanks for the opportunity.

You were fantastic.

How'd you let me boss you around?

Well directed, wasn't you?

Cheers, mate.

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed that, and I'm so pleased Andy thought I did a good

job. Hey, just show us you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Lovely to work with you, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Even my mentor, Callum, was

impressed. Hello, sir.

Hey. How are you doing?

I'm all right.

I, um, well, I survived.

You've had your screen debut.

Yeah. How was it?

I was really nervous because I was like... You were nervous. I was going to

if you were nervous. No, I was. And it came out all right, but... It sounds

you nailed it. I mean, you looked the part. You're clearly shopping the same

places as Tristan with your Fair Rocks.

Yeah.

Congratulations, mate. Thank you very much. This is your reward.

Thank you very much. There you go. Well done.

Well,

now that's all over.

I reckon I deserve a pint.

So Callum is taking me to Tristan's favourite watering hole, the Drovers, in

Grasington. This is the Drovers. Here we are.

Shall we go in? I think we should.

Yep.

The Drovers' house.

So it's not really, it's the Devonshire, is that right?

That's correct, yeah.

I see you kept the sign outside that says Drovers.

Well, it'd be rude not to, wouldn't it? It would, wouldn't you? Yeah, very good.

So how long have you been here, then?

A few months before you came, right?

Yeah, six months before us, yeah.

We were approached in the summertime and asked if we wanted to take part in a TV

show. We didn't know what it was.

And then it became the worst kept secret in the day.

So you agreed to take part in a TV show and you didn't know what it was?

Exactly that.

Fair play to you.

I wanted to say it's not the animals that cause all the bother.

It's the people.

Quite right.

I bet people come from all over the world, don't they?

Definitely. And they're obviously staying in the rooms which are themed

the characters from the show. Oh, are they? They are indeed.

So what do we have?

There's the tricky way. We've got the Skeldale of Darabee.

Skeldale of Darabee.

Yeah. The Tristan Farnham suite is the only one that has two minibars.

Both are always empty.

Always. Brilliant. Brilliant. Good time to bring up my Tristan's port, actually.

Whatever you've heard, it's not true. I didn't do it.

A yard of ale, if you wouldn't mind, please, Maggie.

I'll bring it over.

What can I do for you, sir?

Fancy seeing you this side of the bar, eh?

Yes, drover's vest, of course. Here we go.

And here we go, sir.

Oh, that's good. A pint of the drover's vest for you. Thank you very much, sir.

Brilliant. Have one yourself.

Thank you very much. You're welcome.

Here's to us.

Here's to my future career behind a bar.

Well, now we're suitably refreshed, I think it's a good time to explore the

of Grassington.

James Herriot, Darrowby.

This town has become famous the world over for its old -fashioned Yorkshire

charm. But even still, it takes a lot of work to transform it to the 1940s. You

get, like, the 1940s cars. You've got, obviously, loads of extras, like,

about the place with their dogs who are dressed in all the gear as well. Yeah,

we've had some really great scenes that we've filmed in Rathsons and Scrams.

There was the one from last season where, if you remember, me and Siegfried

from just that little gap in the buildings there. We'd been drunk on the

elderflower wine that Dodgson gave us.

Walking a straight line, Matt. I assure you, I'm walking perfectly straight.

Clothes ripped, greys, and we're stumbling all over the place.

And I did, like, a stage trip up the curb.

The shops in the town have been repurposed for the show. The cafe

haberdashery, the shop next door to the bakery is the bakery, and the bookshop,

well, that's the fruit and vegetable shop.

It all makes sense to someone.

So, bookshop. We are actually Stripy Badger Bookshop, but during all

we're transported in the 1940s, and we're GF Endelbury, the greengrocers.

I mean, they really don't transform the inside of the shop, but it's the front

of the shop that they put the signage on, and all the vegetables.

Absolutely minute detail.

We are actually in the forefront, because all the filming is between the

and the surgery.

Well, it's Tristan running from Skeldale over the drovers, isn't it, for a swift

pint? Yes.

When they're filming, do you get big crowds turn up? Yes. Do you? Yes. Yeah,

it's phenomenal.

I always say it's like a cross between doing theatre and television whenever

we're here, because there's crowds of about 100 people while we're filming,

then when the camera's cut, you get a round of applause.

That's brilliant, yeah.

Of course, you've got the little old creatures going to more shrine at the

as well.

Old Creatures now has been here for six years, and the impact on the town or

village is absolutely amazing.

The number of visitors we're getting increases year by year.

People are coming and spending money here, which is great.

The village is generally very supportive of all events that we put on and

hopefully will be for a few more years.

The most iconic part of Grasington is the front exterior of Skeldale House.

It does look a bit different, doesn't it?

Yeah,

crikey.

Here we go.

Blimey, that's different.

Evening. Morning or dawning.

Hi. Hello there.

There's no Daraby 2297 going on in here, is there?

Daraby 2297.

And then, of course, the animals.

When the cast and crew are filming in Grassington, they often bring with them

host of creatures.

And let's not forget, the animals are the star of the show.

Let's just not tell the cast.

The Dales and the Animals go above the title.

We're always in the service of the animals.

We're small, but they're great.

Samuel West was comfortable with rats from a young age as he had them as pets,

but horses were all new to him.

And for his role, he had to learn how to be confident around them and how to

ride, guided by veteran horse trainer Mark Atkinson.

The challenge is that we are up against the most in making sure that the actors

feel safe around the horses and help them behave in a manner that convinces

viewer that they're very, very used to horses.

I think when I first read that Siegfried was a person who preferred horses to

people, I thought that was a quite extreme character note. That seemed like

strange thing.

Good, you're seeing me now, aren't you?

Nothing to be afraid of here.

But then I spent more time with Mark and Ben and with their extraordinary horses

and I began to see it as quite natural.

Hello, friend.

You remember me, don't you?

There's a sense that you're in the sort of the company of real thoroughbreds.

It's like having a Ferrari under your foot.

And you're on mojo and then you just pull your stomach muscles in and he

oh, we're trotting. Okay. And he's away.

And I find that sort of communication really extraordinary.

I mean, to be booked to do something that you couldn't quite do and then to

taught how to do it a bit better so that people who can really do it go, yeah, I

kind of believe that.

That's a real joy as an actor.

All Creatures is made by hundreds of people, each crucial to the success of

show. One of them is animal handler Jill Clark.

You'll find her on set.

She's the one who spends more time with the animals than the humans.

Hello, you're Jill.

I am, hello. Nice to meet you.

So you're the animal handler. I am, yes.

You've got a snake round your neck. Oh yes, I have.

Didn't notice.

Jill's part of the team who train the animals. From getting a cow to lie down

cue... tricky to pose for a pretend operation, or a goat to hold its hoof

The animal handler's job is really varied.

Jill's agreed to chat with me and a few of her furry friends, of course, in

Skeldale House.

What could possibly go wrong?

Don't knock the lights, Ogle, please.

There we go.

Come here.

And these two have been running and jumping on the...

Dining room table. How do you train them to do that, then? With food.

Food and a series of buzzing noises motivate the goats to jump on tables.

Now, this particular thing took Jill and the team several takes and a lot of

mess until they got the footage that they needed to make it.

Ladies, ladies!

Out of there!

Ladies!

If there aren't nothing there... Get down from there!

Jill, who supplies all the animals and looks after all the... I mean, she's an

extraordinary woman.

And she trains them so beautifully to not be neurotic. So they will, as long

they get love, they will go to anybody.

So what's the biggest animal you've trained?

Oh, he's determined to smash it.

I think probably the catnip.

We had a two -ton bull in the first series.

Oh, God.

There are similarities in what we do, then. So you're training people as well

animals, aren't you? Yes, oh, yes, all the time, yeah.

Be comfortable with them and talk to them.

Yes. So it's people just...

Obviously, dogs is my thing, but do you find that a lot of that transfers right

across all the animals? Yes, definitely. Yeah, tone of voice, keep calm.

If it's starting to go wrong, don't panic.

Yeah, definitely. All of that.

If you panic, everybody else around you panics. Yeah, for sure.

The show has a responsibility to treat the animals with the utmost respect and

safety. And so since day one, vet Andy Barrett has made sure the animals are

really well looked after. He helps the cat act like real vet.

A cow like this doesn't come cheap, Mr Rudd.

And he also advises the writers of the animal stories to keep things authentic.

So, Andy, you're the vet here on the location, so you're obviously looking

the welfare of the animals?

Yeah, that's one of our roles, and then the other thing is we're very keen on

realism, so we're here to sort of offer advice about what would this look like.

Try to rock it over towards me.

So, how long have you been involved with the...

Yeah, right from the start. Right from the start, yeah. Episode one, series

Amazing. How did you get the gig then? My first boss was actually James

Herriot's son.

Really? Jim White in Thirsk. And obviously he'd been approached about the

and he put my name forward.

A little birdie told me that Sam West, Siegfried, has got a tool that you gave

him. Is that right? Well, I lent it to him. Oh, you lent it to him. He wasn't

going to get to keep it. What's the story? Yeah, it's over the first episode

series one.

I lent him a hoof knife that actually belonged to Mr. Sinclair. Who was the

seed fruit.

Yeah.

Thanks.

Got it.

I guess there are all sorts of restrictions for the producers in terms

they can and can't do with animals.

Is that something you're advising on?

It's a big logistical exercise. Filming on...

live farm.

I had no idea that on this show they filmed the animal births for real, and I

was keen to find out more from Andy.

In the first series, they wanted to film a carving.

It's all right.

We're here to look after you.

We had two in -carve cows, and we sat and watched them and watched them and

watched them, and then nearly missed them carving.

We got there with seconds to spare, really.

That's it, you've got it.

On this set, Andy is Nick's vet double, because for the welfare and safety of

the animal, it needs to be a real vet with a cow who's carving, not an actor.

Talk about authentic.

I mean, I suppose they could have done that with some sort of prosthetic or

whatever. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of prosthetics used. Obviously, animal

welfare is really high up on the agenda, and one of the things that the

production company said in the first place was it's got to be right. If we

need to use real animals, we don't use them, and certainly we make sure that

everything is looked after and its welfare isn't compromised.

I'm sure it would approve.

I hope so.

After the break, it's almost time for Christmas.

And I can't wait to show you Mrs Hall's baking secrets, as well as taking you to

a barn repurposed as a photo studio where the actors and animals will create

poster artwork for the show.

Welcome back to All Creatures Great and Small Behind the Magic.

I'm excited about Christmas. It's my favourite time of year. And for the past

six years, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without the All Creatures

and Small festive episode.

And this year, it's no different.

It's a mock turkey.

Parsnips. For legs.

And you can keep your opinions to yourself too.

All this talk of Christmas is making me hungry.

And who better to visit than my namesake, Mrs Hall, played by Anna

provider of all delicious grub on the show.

This is Mrs Hall's domain, cooks a mean back pudding.

But I'm about to discover Mrs Hall's secret.

Truth is, you're our real Mrs Hall, aren't you? Because I don't actually

anything.

Spoiler. You maybe don't create all of the meals that there is, though. No.

Oh, I say, Mrs H.

It smells marvellous. It really does.

Yes, well, it's just bread and cheese for now.

Today, Anna's going to have a go at Mrs Hall's famous shortbread biscuits with

the help of home economist Bethany Heald in the kitchen set.

We've got flour and rice flour, and that's quite an authentic recipe.

So that gets sieved and butter added.

Lovely. And a tiny bit of sugar, because we're still on rationing, you know.

You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble.

And then it's basically a game of mixing until we get to a dough.

I think it's the only show I've been on where everyone asks to eat the food.

That's a compliment.

You really didn't need to do all of this.

Your birthday only comes around once a year. You date up and then you can get

out from one of them and eat.

So the only things we haven't wanted to be would probably be things that have

been designed more as a prop.

So you made Trish's wonderful blancmange, his favourite put. But you

my right, you added a load of extra gelatin to it. Yeah, about a quadruple

normal amount of gelatin.

Because we had to use period jelly mould and we had to make it robust enough to

hold up under the lights because everything wilts a little bit.

Do you mind sprinkling some flour on there?

And as you know, I can't wash my hands now because the thing doesn't actually

work. It's a secret.

Nothing works.

When they do need to wash up or fill a kettle on the show, a hose pipe is

up.

There.

That should do it.

The shortbreads are ready to cook.

But there's one small problem.

Traditionally, you would cook these at the end of the day when the oven's

cooling down.

So it's not cooked quite gently.

Probably bottomaga.

It's not the roasting bit, it's the simmering bit. Yeah, it's the simmering

oven. Which again, doesn't technically... Doesn't work. I'm not

shelf in there right now. No, it hasn't. But that's where it would go.

Oh, he's here.

Mrs. Oates, if that tastes half as good as it smells, Pomfrey can keep a stupid

party. A fake kitchen?

Surely not. But then I suppose making a drama is literally make -believe.

Another

piece of

make -believe is how the poster for the show is created.

This local barn has been repurposed as a studio by photographer Jay Brooks.

We are in quite a hot barn somewhere in the fields outside Harrogate where they

film a lot of the Old Creatures episode.

And we've set up basically a photography studio in what was only a few weeks ago

full of sheep.

We're here doing some key art shoots at the end of the series, some gallery

shoots and some social media content.

So these are the bits that go out to promote the show, the poster and all

kind of stuff. So it's a slightly different vibe today. Everything's a bit

relaxed. We've got pizza and ice cream.

Look more out into the distance for the sheep as well because they're going

right down the lane.

Nice. The art shoot is a photography shoot that you do where we create the

poster artwork.

Lovely. And that artwork is kind of seen all over the place. It could become a

book jacket, it goes onto the streaming platform, and it could even be an at

-home poster on the London Underground.

So our shot today is basically the cast sitting in a car driving down a country

lane.

So in this we've got animals, a heap, five actors, two dogs.

This job, you do all sorts of crazy things.

Directing sheep is a new one for me, but maybe it won't be the last.

They were brilliant.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

The story today is a really lovely one.

The family are out for a drive in the countryside, in the Dales. Lots of sheep

suddenly cross the park in front of them and they realise that they can't get

any further.

Siegfried leaps out of the car in frustration, as always.

Kristen's in the back seat kind of messing around.

Yeah, I hope it feels natural, really.

This is all inching the car forward.

And Jay, Helen and the children kind of come across them as they're also walking

across the land.

And there's a lot of separate elements and it all goes together like an amazing

jigsaw puzzle and create this one perfect image.

With posters made, biscuits baked, and my scene in the can, it's almost time

me to put my Christmas decorations up and pour myself a sherry.

But there's one person who's going to need some help before they can put their

Christmas stocking up. It's time for me to give something back and help Callum

with a little problem.

His puppy Lenny has a real thing for socks.

So, first of all, what have you taught him?

He knows sit, down and paw.

That's what he knows so far.

Right, I'll tell you what, he's already sitting, so I'll tell you what, sit,

down.

I'll give you that as well if you like. That was foresight.

Give me a paw.

No, give me a treat.

Hey, paw.

Yay!

You can have both paws.

Right, so we've got Sock here.

Hello. He's already discovered the treats, unfortunately.

Oh, Sock, that's interesting. Ah, no.

Good boy.

All right, then.

So, it's not there.

Ah, no.

No.

No. Good.

Go on, then. Yeah.

So, is that if you look away from this? Yeah. So, the timing is such that if we

can... So, I go... No, right.

Good boy. Now he's looking this way. Good boy. There you go. He's looking for

the better thing that you said about, yeah.

So, is that... What's this?

Ah.

Good boy.

This is going to serve me a fortune.

I gave Lenny a taste of the dog father.

So sock on, job done. And now Callum can safely leave his Christmas stocking by

the Christmas tree.

For me, it wouldn't be Christmas without the all -creatures Christmas special.

And we've had six years of treats, with Tricky in peril, a wedding that didn't

happen, an emotional farewell, oh, Mrs Hall's Christmas heartbreak, and the

birth of baby Jimmy.

I wonder if the cast ever thought they'd still be here six Christmases later.

I've never played a part for six years.

In fact, the longest I've ever done anything before was one.

I had no idea what I was walking into. It kind of blows my mind now to think

that we can look back over six years.

You know, everyone's children have grown up and people have got new dogs.

Edward!

Right.

So, yeah, it's been an amazing, amazing journey.

As an actor, you're super grateful to have a job.

We went into this show with caution because everyone that we spoke to gave

sort of warning, if you will, of, like, don't mess it up, you've got big boots

to fill. So to hear that people enjoyed it and we were coming back again was

like, oh, my goodness, that's amazing, we've done something right. And then...

To now still be here six years late is kind of, yeah, it's wild.

The challenges of working with the animals, great or small, in the period

and things like that, and then just day to day, getting to work with these

wonderful actors.

I can hardly believe it's been six years.

You know, six years on now, we just know each other so much better naturally

than we did at the start.

And it's just an absolute joy to come back and do another one.

Everybody's as lovely as they seemed on day one, and the series has turned out

to have all the complexity and the beauty and the simplicity that it had in

first series.

Every year, in order to film the Christmas special, Grassington is turned

winter wonderland in the summer heat.

Not the most comfortable working conditions in all these heavy clothes.

We always shoot the Christmas episode in the middle of June.

You really must learn more tact, Carmody.

So we're in, like, four to five layers of thick woolen clothes in, like, 25

-degree heat.

Layers and layers and layers with a blazer and a jacket and a hat and a

and gloves.

It's a lot for 30 -degree heat if you're running across Crashington Square, for

instance, which is our derby, which I've done before.

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you too, secretly. I did a scene where I was

sitting in front of a wood -burning stove in a three -piece tweed suit and

degrees, pretending to be freezing.

And I had ice packs down my back, in my pocket down my back.

Merry Christmas. Come on then.

I love every Christmas special and I watch it with my family like a viewer,

though I'm in it. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

James, come and sit down. We waited for you.

My favourite toast throughout all the year, 100%, has to be Merry Bloody

Christmas. Merry Bloody Christmas!

My favourite thing about the toast, and it goes for all of them, is that they

always end in Merry Bloody Christmas.

My children are quite good at saying Merry Bloody Christmas.

Merry Bloody Christmas!

It's the best. You can't have Christmas without it.

I've had the best time here at the home of all creatures, great and small. So,

wherever you are, I wish you a merry bloody Christmas.

Famous faces recall their favourite festive memories in the Christmas treats

loved and lost, brand new at 10 .15.

And Santa's still a few hours away, but you won't have to wait any longer for

your Christmas Eve treat from 5.

Yes, it's the all creatures, great and small, special, brand new, next.