Inside Look

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

- [Helen] This is James Herriot, Siegfried's new assistant.

(dynamic music) - "All Creatures Great and Small", for those people who know the books, is iconic, fun, and entertaining stories.

- One of the wonderful things about the books is that they're based on true stories, people and experiences that Herriot met and had.

- [Siegfried] Where did it all start for you, wanting to be a vet?

- I developed a real love for the animals.

- He comes into this new world.

It's been a complete culture shock for him.

- Need a hand down?

- What makes Helen a character for a modern audience is her strength.

She gives as good as she gets, in fact better than James.

- Siegfried's bark really is worse than his bite.

(horn beeping) - Chop, chop.

- I really like the fact that Siegfried's quite strict and authoritarian.

- His eccentricities can be difficult.

- Just try and make it through the day.

- Go on then, what are you waiting for?

We've got a practice to run.

- Shall we?

- Can't wait.

- Tristan brings with him a host of other troubles.

- Tristan is a little mischievous.

He just does things at his own leisurely pace.

- [Samuel] He's deeply annoying, most of the time.

- What are you doing?

- The characters are just wonderful.

- The animals are the easy part.

It's the people cause all the bother.

- Could I see you sometime?

- This is where you're hiding.

- We shot everything on location.

That allows us to bring Yorkshire to life in the most beautiful way.

- The backdrop of the Yorkshire Dales is a character within itself.

And the animals have been incredible to work with.

- You have to ask them to do things, and generally they do it, until they don't want to do it anymore.

And you get out of the way.

- This new adaptation brings a sense of hope and of community in a way that's very uplifting.

- It's wonderful that everybody, like a family, could sit and watch it, and enjoy it together.

- The stories themselves are timeless, and that's why people go back to them time and time again.

- We wanted to tell the story in a way that felt modern and fresh, and that's the glory of this show.

And that's right at the heart of James Herriot's stories.

(dynamic music)