Love is in the air for James, Tristan and Siegfried in first seasonal special for rebooted classic

There’s been one nagging frustration blighting this year’s successful reboot of All Creatures Great And Small, one of TV’s most cherished shows. Why are vet James Herriot and farmer’s daughter Helen Alderson still only friends?

They’ve been pussyfooting around each other like lovesick teenagers since James first clapped eyes on Helen in a muddy farmyard in episode one, with neither revealing their true feelings. 

In the original BBC version in the 1970s, James and Helen (played by Christopher Timothy and Carol Drinkwater) were married halfway through series one, and many of this revival’s five million viewers (a record audience for a drama on Channel 5) have been wondering why TV history hasn’t repeated itself.

Even the cast’s families have been scratching their heads. ‘The final straw for my mum was when Helen got engaged to Hugh Halton,’ says Rachel Shenton, who plays Helen. ‘She was completely outraged.’

Tristan finds romance with Maggie the barmaid in the seasonal special after helping younger brother David following an accident with Bob the donkey (pictured)

That’s pretty much how matters were left when the six-part series ended in October, with James (Nicholas Ralph) looking glumly into his pint at the Drovers’ Arms in Darrowby as he learnt Helen was betrothed to rich landowner Hugh (Matthew Lewis). And as the special episode begins, Helen and Hugh are preparing to tie the knot in a Christmas Day wedding.

Surely that can’t be allowed to happen? Well it can, but writer Ben Vanstone’s beautifully crafted final scenes remain top secret, although what can be revealed is that James and Helen spend lots of time together before the wedding – in fact they’re marooned together in a fog-bound cottage the night before the big day, on Christmas Eve.

‘As they’re about to celebrate Christmas with a party at Skeldale House, James gets a call from farmer Bert Chapman about his pregnant sheepdog,’ explains Nicholas. 

‘James is very dedicated, so despite the weather closing in he heads off to the Chapmans’ remote cottage. Helen asks to go with him, and by the time James has finished the weather has deteriorated and they have to spend the night there.’

Siegfried and Dorothy share a drink together at the Christmas party being held at the Skeldale House

During the early hours of Christmas Day, James and Helen talk in the Chapmans’ candlelit sitting room. It’s an ideal opportunity for the sensitive vet to express his feelings. 

‘But it’s not easy for him – and it wasn’t easy for us either as we were filming in a freezing dilapidated cottage on the Yorkshire Moors for three days,’ laughs Nicholas.

‘Helen’s engagement was a sucker punch for James because they have this connection. He puts on a brave face, though he wants to say something but doesn’t have the nerve.

‘It’s like when you’re sitting on a train, and your eyes meet across the carriage and you have this fleeting romance with someone before one of you gets off. You don’t say anything – that might be mistaken as creepy – but you want to.’

Helen (left) and James (right) end up marooned together at a country cottage the day before Helen’s wedding

Rachel Shenton says she can understand why the public have been willing James and Helen on, but she appreciates why Helen has hitched her wagon to Hugh, who’s foppishly charming and just happens to own the land which her family farms.

‘She has some heavy emotions to battle,’ says Rachel. ‘And the viewers will be on the rollercoaster with her during this Christmas special.’

After the fog lifts, the pair return to Darrowby for scenes that will require viewers to stock up on tissues. Cast members admit to shedding tears at the closing stages, including Anna Madeley who plays Mrs Hall the housekeeper.

‘It’s a real tearjerker,’ says Anna, whose character goes on her own emotional journey. Although she’s devoted to the three vets who work at Skeldale House – James and the Farnon brothers, Siegfried and Tristan – she spent the whole of the regular series pining for a reunion with her wayward son Edward, and that storyline reaches a conclusion.

Mayhem with the mistletoe 

Fun-loving Tristan Farnon also has romance in mind. 

After buying up all the mistletoe at Darrowby market he’s festooned the house with it and is keen for a kiss with barmaid and mistletoe seller Maggie. 

In the end, he finds a route to her heart through her younger brother David, who he comforts after an incident with Bob the donkey.

‘David has been feeding mistletoe to Bob – one of the star turns in the nativity play – and fears he might have poisoned him,’ explains Callum Woodhouse, the former Durrells star who plays Tristan. 

‘Tristan shows his softer side and that impresses Maggie – and David learns not to feed mistletoe to donkeys!’

‘She’s praying Edward returns because she doesn’t have the family unit she’d hoped for at this point in her life. The Christmas special is a conclusion for her – she realises that she needs to accept certain things and move on. And that will leave her clear to enjoy the surrogate family around her.’

Meanwhile senior vet Siegfried has long carried a torch for Dorothy, Mrs Hall’s glamorous and beautiful friend (played by Maimie McCoy). She’s a guest at the Skeldale House party and that might be the perfect time for Siegfried to make his move.

‘He’s a bit of an old rake, a rum cove, and he’s keen to dip his toe into romantic waters for the first time since his wife died,’ explains Sam West, who plays Siegfried. ‘Sadly he’s a bit out of practice.’

Food featured heavily in the making of the Christmas special. There was a carrot dipped in Marmite, which the production team attempted to feed to Bob the donkey so he would curl his lip and look queasy after nibbling on some mistletoe. But he refused to take the bait!

The cast got to tuck into a hearty Christmas lunch of turkey and all the trimmings too, supposedly prepared by Mrs Hall, at the end of the episode. ‘We knew it was going to be very tasty so we went easy on lunch before we filmed those scenes,’ says Anna Madeley. ‘And we weren’t disappointed… Mrs Hall did us proud!’

Expect more uplifting tales from James and his fellow vets next year once series two has been filmed. Although whether we’ll be welcoming back a newlywed Mrs Halton to Darrowby, or a still single Miss Alderson, remains to be seen. 

All Creatures Great And Small, Tuesday 22, 9pm, Channel 5.

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