This is Y December 2020 Digital Edition

This page: Nicholas Ralph as James Herriot.
This Image: © Playground Television (UK) Ltd. / Photographer: Matt Squire This Image: © Playground Television (UK) Ltd. / Ed Miller
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE PART OF
SUCH A MASSIVE TV HIT SERIES?
NICHOLAS RALPH:Incredible. After the first
episode and subsequently every episode that followed, I
just couldn’t get my head around the response of viewers,
particularly on social media, with the general public being
so enthusiastic about All Creatures Great and Small.
Everyone has been so lovely. It’s an absolute honour to be
in a programme that has been so well received across the
board. We had a lot of faith in the show with the right cast
and crew, in the right place, creating this, but you never
know how things will turn out. So such a positive reaction
has been fabulous and I’m still buzzing.
RACHEL SHENTON: All Creatures Great and
Small appeals across all generations and is something
the whole family can enjoy together. We’ve had so
much fantastic feedback, from the press to viewers
sending in pictures of their dogs watching, plus children
and grandparents snuggling up together enjoying the
storylines. It seems that pretty much everyone has been
enjoying it.
NICHOLAS, ALL CREATURES
GREAT AND SMALL WAS YOUR
FIRST TV ROLE …
AND it’s been amazing. As I was going through the
audition process and I realised it was all becoming a
reality, I found myself glued to my script pieces in every
waking moment. I loved the writing, the characters and
really felt like I had an instant personal connection with
veterinary surgeon James Herriot. I wanted the part so
much and thankfully I got it. The whole experience has
been brilliant, including being directed by Brian Percival
(who also directed Downton Abbey). Becoming part of
such an impressive cast and working with a top crew, I
was constantly pinching myself as I couldn’t quite believe
what I was doing. Even before drama school, I spent so
much time watching my favourite actors on TV and being
absorbed in behind the scenes footage, that to then be a
part of filming a television drama and being on an actual
set was an absolute dream. Landing on day one, which
was the technical day and everything’s getting prepared
for filming, with the trailers and catering vans arriving …
perhaps not the most glamorous of days … BUT I couldn’t
stop looking around in awe and saying ‘this is so cool’ and
that’s how I felt throughout the whole shoot.
This Image: © Playground Television (UK) Ltd.
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