What’s in Store for All Creatures Great and Small Season 3
All Creatures Great and Small fans, rejoice! We’ve got the inside scoop from series stars Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Callum Woodhouse, and Rachel Shenton. Read on for teasers for Season 3, from animals, to love, to changes in Skeldale House, and more.
- 1.
Setting the Scene
Season 3 opens with our beloved Skeldale House family in the spring of 1939. Our favorite Darrowby residents are facing plenty of changes, especially James and Helen, who are embarking on the next exciting chapter of their lives together, as a couple and two parts of the Skeldale family.
After being offered a new role with even more responsibilities by Siegfried, James pushes himself harder than ever before. But will some unexpected challenges push him to his breaking point?
Meanwhile, Tristan is now an officially qualified veterinarian. The younger Farnon sets his mind to taking his work — and his personal life (including, dare we say, romance?) — more seriously. Though he is still Tristan Farnon, so don’t expect all work and no play…
- 2.
More Animals, More Fun!
Our stellar cast isn’t just made up of talented humans, of course. What would All Creatures Great and Small be without its cute, mischievous, prickly, fun-loving animals? Season 3 brings even more creatures to the scene — which of course means more behind-the-scenes stories about the cast working with the animal cast members.
Nicholas Ralph, for one, found some (hilarious) difficulty with a certain feline on set. “Cats are untrainable. I have to give a cat an examination [in one scene] and any time Dean, the animal handler, left for a second, the cat just bolted. They are impossible to train!”
Samuel West was elated when he learned that Siegfried was gaining a new animal friend this season, and was thrilled with all the possibilities of working with a species that hasn’t been featured on the series before. “I have to say that when they finally said there’ll be a story about a rat, I was so excited,” West confessed. “Maybe I’ll clip its nails, you know, they have sniffles I could give it drops…he’s very friendly and an absolute delight. I’m biased, but I would never get a hamster or guinea pig if I could have a friendly rat — they recognize their names!”
Is Mrs. Hall as enthusiastic about the new addition? “[She] is rather unimpressed by the arrival of a rat, said Anna Madeley. “Personally, I’d never experienced rats other than the big ones you see in the park and run away from! So I was quite surprised by these two beautiful rats — they are rather sweet and I was surprised by how lovely they were. I’ve seen rats in a new light.”
Callum Woodhouse, a dog-owner himself, loves working with all the dogs on set, bonding with them, and rubbing their bellies. That excitement still exists, even after working with animals for much of his acting career thus far, first on The Durrells in Corfu and now All Creatures Great and Small. “I think I work exclusively with animals. I mean, that’s clearly what I’m doing in my career so far!”
- 3.
The Skeldale Family Bunch
Though he’ll always deny it, Siegfried can be a big softie at times, which is exactly what leads him to inviting Helen to live at Skeldale House once she and James marry. “We have a new member of the family,” said West.
The relationship between Helen and Siegfried has always been a special one, West explained. “They’ve always had a bit of a bond, Helen, and Siegfried… [they’ve] both got much younger siblings with absent mothers. That kind of brings [them] together in a way. There’s always been a respect there.”
And Siegfried’s not the only one who feels a special bond with Helen — Mrs. Hall does, as well. (It’s hard not to love Helen, after all!) “They both run their own households — although they do it quite differently — and have other responsibilities, but because Helen had to fulfill that role of mother/carer for her sister and is also the one who cooks and cleans for their household, there is a big Venn diagram crossover for [she and Mrs. Hall],” said Madeley. To Mrs. Hall, Helen is “not quite another child” but “someone else to love who expands the family.”
While the love between them all and the excitement of the honeymoon phase are major sources of joy, it’s still a life-altering moment for Helen — one that’s not always easy. “She has to find her way into the well-oiled machine that is Skeldale,” Shenton said. “I think finding the kind of balance between Skeldale and Heston Grange is very real for Helen this series.”
- 4.
Change is Afoot
The newlyweds’ adjustments and Helen’s transition into a full-time Skeldale resident aren’t the only changes afoot in Darrowby. Siegfried offers James a new opportunity within the practice, Tristan has officially passed his exams, war is on the horizon, disease strikes some of the community’s animals, and old and new tensions come to the surface.
With James taking on more responsibility and feeling more and more comfortable in his role both in the home and as a veterinarian, he’s also more confident in speaking his mind. But how will Siegfried handle it? “There’s going to be a butting of heads,” Ralph teased.
As for Tristan: “[He] is a fully qualified vet now, for real. Not like the fake qualifications he had before!” Woodhouse said. But is Siegfried ready to loosen the reins? Only time will tell.
- 5.
Friendships & Romance
From strangers with undeniable chemistry in Season 1, to hesitant friends who finally become more in Season 2, to wedding bells ringing in Season 3, James and Helen have had quite the love story — one that is far from over!
While Helen may have called off her wedding to Hugh Hulton (Matthew Lewis) in Season 1, “She has no reservations about this wedding, or about James,” Shelton said. “They’re so in love! And that’s never been in question — I think from the moment that they met… They’re no longer stealing kisses and sneaking off to go on dates. We really see them have less of fast heart beating romance and become more of a team. I think that is what happens as relationships evolve.”
Tristan is certainly thrilled for his best friend, but at the same time, James and Helens’ marriage brings up other unexpected feelings. “I think more than anything, he’s…not jealous, jealous, but you know, he just wants that type of relationship with someone.” Could Tristan meet his match this season? You’ll just have to wait and see…
Meanwhile, the relationship between Mrs. Hall and Gerald continues to evolve into a “lovely friendship”, said Madeley. “She loves the time she spends with him. Special time outside of the house with someone who cares for her but she is a little overwhelmed by the idea it could be anything other than a friendship and so she doesn’t quite face up to that side of it and just enjoys having a friend.”
- 6.
Watch a Season 3 Preview
“…[a] nostalgic throwback to a simpler age is just the tonic…” and “[a] small dose of TV sunshine” – The Times
“…a program that provides comfort to the nation…” –Â The Telegraph
