Nicholas Ralph Answers Fan Questions
In every episode of All Creatures Great and Small, we’re used to seeing James Herriot discover answers to questions about the creatures, great and small, that he treats. Now, Nicholas Ralph, the actor who plays him, has answers of his own to questions submitted by All Creatures Great and Small fans! With the same thoughtfulness and spirit as the character he portrays in the TV series on MASTERPIECE, Nicholas Ralph shares his experiences with the James Herriot books, the animals, the cast, how working on the show has changed his life, and more.
Elizabeth S. asked, “Do you have a favorite animal that you’ve worked with while filming?”
It’s got to be little Derek, who plays Tricki in the show, because he is a sterling professional—never puts a foot wrong, always hits his marks, knows all his lines. He is wonderful, a dream to work with. Yeah, little Derek.
Susan W. from Ontario, Canada asked if any of the animal “actors” attached themselves to any particular cast member, seeking them out and bonding with them.
No, not anyone in particular, but Ernie, the golden retriever who plays Jess, will attach himself to anyone who’s near. He’s just so affectionate, if you’re in his proximity and you say hello, he’s then just immediately stuck to your leg. He’s such a softie, really lovely. And conversely, you have Derek, who doesn’t even acknowledge that you’re there. A year goes by, and we go back up to do more filming, and I see him for the first time, and I’m like, “Derek! Der boy, it’s great to see you!” and he barely even bats an eyelid, he’s so cool. He’s kind of over it all, a bit of a diva.
Lynda M. and many other viewers asked, “Do you have or did you grow up with any pets?”
I live in a little flat in London and I’m hardly ever in it, so no, I don’t have any pets. I used to have a guinea pig called Nip, because she nipped and nibbled the ends of your fingers, but that was when I was a kid.
Judy B. from Michigan asked, “Which do you enjoy more, working with your castmates or working with the animals?”
If I said the animals, then my castmates would get very jealous. So I’ll say my castmates, because the animals, they show me up a lot of the time, they’re just so good. They’re so wonderfully trained and they’re on point every single time. At least with my castmates, I’ve have got a chance.
Bonnie H. from Ohio asked “Is there an animal you haven’t worked with yet but would like to?”
I was asked this before, and I said a giraffe, because then we would have to be in Africa. So I’m going to stick with giraffe in the hope that we get an All Creatures Great and Small Goes on Safari.
Janis T. asked, “How physically demanding is it to play James? When you’re playing a scene in a field or a barn, it looks extremely physically rigorous.”
Well, when you’re filming, it’s normally 12-15 hour days, Monday to Friday, and if you’re outside and it’s wind and rain and minus -4°c, as it was one day on set last year, it does take out of you a bit. With some of those scenes, I’m in a rickety barn or a field in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales, and bare-chested whilst trying to birth a calf, things like that. But at the same time, you’re really well taken care of. And other days, we’re inside the studio doing a big scene where Mrs. Hall’s cooked us Sunday roast or something, and we’re just sitting there having a lovely time. So it depends on the day. There’s so much variety, being an actor on this show— every day is different, which is one of the absolute joys of being in it, as well.
Lorna W. and Doreen C. of Rhode Island asked if there are any significant similarities and differences between you and the real James Herriot [Alf Wight].
It’s a bit of art imitating life, how we’re similar, in that James studied his craft in Glasgow, at veterinary school, and then his first big job was in the Yorkshire Dales, and I similarly went to Glasgow, for drama school at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, studied, learned my craft, and then my first big TV job was in the Yorkshire Dales as well. And I think I also share with James a real passion for our fields—James was obviously supremely passionate about veterinary practice and that life, and I’m the exactly the same, but with acting. I absolutely love it, and yet I’m just always trying to better myself and understand it more and learn more. And I feel that’s exactly what James did.
I guess we’re dissimilar in that I’m from a little town of 10,000 people called Nairn in the Highlands of Scotland, and I just couldn’t wait to get to the cities. I lived in Glasgow seven years, went to drama school there, and now I live in London. I love the hustle and bustle—I feed off the energy of cities. I absolutely love them. And James obviously just fell in love with the countryside and country life in this little village in the Yorkshire Dales. So in that sense, we’re quite different.
Keith V., Carol W., and countless other viewers want to know if you’ve you read James Herriot’s books, and if you grew up with them.
No, I didn’t know anything about the world of James Herriot and All Creatures Great and Small, even when the audition came in. And in hindsight, I’m a little bit glad, because I think it would’ve been a lot more pressure in the auditions. These books have sold over 50 million copies worldwide, have been translated into 40-odd different languages, and I learned about the sheer scale and scope and international appeal of these stories during the audition process. Subsequently, I read the first two books in the first two seasons, because those are the books we’d optioned and were working from. I don’t like to look too far ahead at all because I like to be in the world that I’m playing in. Since then, however, I’ve done all the audiobooks—I did the final one last year, so I’m right up-to-date, and I know them inside out, upside down, back to front. And that’s been an absolute treat as well.
Speaking of the audiobooks, Valerie W. of Pennsylvania wants to know if that process of doing the books has given you any more insight into James, and if yes, did you bring those into your performance?
Yeah, absolutely. I had the first two books, as I said, for the first two seasons, and they were like my bible. I didn’t watch any of the previous James Herriot series or films because you don’t want to end up copying what someone else has done previously. So along with various research that I did—there’s some wonderful YouTube interviews with Wight, obviously pen name James Herriot, and I went to the Glasgow University archives, things like that— the books were, for me, my absolute go-to. And one of the best compliments I got was from someone who said, “I can really see the James from the books in your performance.”
In the books, there’s so much to work with. One thing that stood out from them early on was that although James had patience of a saint and was so compassionate, he also had a backbone, and stood up forthrightly for what he believed in, especially when it came to the health of the animals. It didn’t matter who he was going up against, in that sense, like with Hugh Hulton in our adaption, where James and Siegfried insisted that the animal always comes first. That’s something I really like about the character.
Jane H. from Connecticut and Bonnie H. from Ohio wondered if there is anything from All Creatures Great and Small‘s relatively simpler time period that you wish was still a part of life today?
I suppose what’s lovely about it is that community feeling, the onus on helping out your neighbor, especially now in Season 4, with the war going on—the sense that we’re all in it together. And there was such a social side to community, face-to-face interactions with real people. It’s funny, nowadays, because we’ve got all this social media, and it’s called “social” media, but it seems to be the most anti-social thing around. And people are becoming more lonely, and don’t see people in the flesh as much as they did before. So that’s something that I really like because I much prefer being in person, seeing people, chatting, and hanging out.
John asked if working on the show has changed you, and if yes, how?
I think whatever you’re doing when you’re acting affects you, for sure, regardless of what it is, and especially when you’re so close with the material. But it’s been four years, and a huge part of my life in that four years, as well, so yeah, it has affected me for sure. It was my first television job, so just as far as acting is concerned, I am gaining experience and working on my craft all the time, always growing and honing that craft and working that muscle. So just as far as that, it’s had a huge impact on my life and my career. And then in my life outside the show, it’s definitely, in more ways than one, changed my life. We were just out in LA doing some promotion, and that was wonderful—we get to do these wonderful, fun things. And even now, I live in London, something I’d always wanted to do, and I’ve been here three years, and that’s off the back of doing season one of All Creatures Great and Small—it gave me the opportunity relocate here. So even where I’m living in the world, it’s had a huge impact on my life, and a very positive one.
Judi J. asked what your experience has been with been with fans of the show.
It’s been brilliant—everyone I’ve bumped into has been extremely lovely about the show and about how our adaptation has played out. We get messages all the time, a lot of fan mail and messages on social media from people, and from so many different countries. We had one in from Russia recently, and China. And a lot of people have similar things to say, that they absolutely love it. Some of the best ones we get are people saying, “Wasn’t sure about it when they said they were bringing it back, but you’ve done well.” Even when we were up in Yorkshire doing Season 1, people said, “All right, well, it’s been a while since there’s been an All Creatures television show, so it’s good to see it coming back.” But it was always with the caveat of “Don’t mess it up.” And even when we were filming Season 2, some people would come up and they were like, “Yeah, that was good, very enjoyable. But now that’s the standard, you can’t let it slip now.” So the pressure’s on every year, which is good—they keep us on our toes.
