All Creatures Great and Small is the gift that keeps on giving. The Channel 5 period drama is beloved by many households across the nation. After kicking off its sixth season in October, which picked up in May 1945 as victory in Europe is declared and James juggles vet work with his busy family life, the show is returning for a very special Christmas episode.
The 2025 holiday special will air on Christmas Eve and takes place in 1945, which marks the first peacetime Christmas after the war and sees James (Nicholas Ralph) taking up the task of organising the village Nativity while Helen (Rachel Shenton) is out sick. A teaser trailer for the episode even seems to hint at a potential romantic development between Mrs Hall and Siegfried.
Speaking to press ahead of the new episode, Nicholas Ralph told HELLO!: "It's got all that lovely Christmas feeling, festive feeling in it, and through it it's very warm, it's joyful, it's hopeful, it's a bit silly and it's really fun. The war has just ended, but that doesn't mean things just go back to normal like that and there will be repercussions."
© 5He continued: "I think there's a lot of pressure on this Christmas because people want this Christmas to be the best Christmas ever because of what has just happened. But, of course, it can't, it doesn't, things just don't go that way and there's a lot of a hangover from when people are dealing with things in different ways, so it also comes with that caveat. I think there is a lot of pressure on it and we'll see how that goes, but it's still full of that warm, lovely Christmas feeling and joy."
While stories of James, Siegfried and Tristan's furry patients are always at the heart of the drama, James and Helen's sweet relationship, as well as Siegfried and Mrs Hall's will-they-won't-they romance, keep us coming back each season. But what about the actors who play them?
As we return to Darrowby for more heartwarming tales from the life of veterinary surgeon James Herriot and his friends at Skeldale House, find out all you need to know about the cast's love lives, from Rachel Shenton to Samuel West and Callum Woodhouse.
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© Rachel Shenton/InstagramRachel Shenton
Just like her on-screen counterpart, Rachel is happily married in real life. The actress tied the knot with actor and filmmaker Chris Overton in 2018. Fans may recognise Chris for his roles in DCI Banks, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, and Drifters.
Opening up about their wedding day back in 2018, Rachel told The Sun: "We got married not that long ago in amongst all the madness! It was a very private event, we wanted to keep it private, but I am so happy though. It has been a very good year, I don't know what we are going to do next year!"
The couple, who first met in 2010 on the set of Hollyoaks, are partners both on and off-screen, having worked together on their Oscar-winning short film, The Silent Child, which follows a six-year-old deaf girl whose life is changed when she meets a kind social worker. Rachel wrote and starred in the movie, while her husband stepped behind the cameras as director.
Rachel and Chris welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Orson, in April. Rachel and Chris welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Orson, in April. On 15 December, Rachel shared a photo to her Instagram Stories of her Christmas tree with an adorable decoration that read: "Baby's First Christmas".
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© Dan Wooller/ShutterstockSamuel West
Much like his co-star Rachel, Samuel's other half is also in the spotlight. The actor is in a long-term relationship with award-winning playwright and screenwriter Laura Wade, whose most notable works include her 2010 play Posh and 2018's Home, I'm Darling, which starred The It Crowd's Katherine Parkinson and went on to win a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy.
The couple have been together since 2007, although they briefly parted in 2011. They share two young daughters, who Samuel is raising to be "strong women". "I'm pleased we had daughters – I've tried to do things that make them feel strong," the actor previously told The Telegraph. "They both have my partner's surname, and we're very into unisex clothing for them; I'm not really into a gendered upbringing. Strong is the new pretty, as they say, so I hope that girls' time has come."
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Callum Woodhouse
While Callum is fairly private when it comes to his love life, fans have speculated that the actor is dating writer and director Edie Moles. Back in May last year, the 30-year-old shared a sweet black-and-white beach snap, showing the pair looking cosy while frolicking in the sea. "Bit nippy like," he penned in the caption.
One follower penned: "With your girlfriend?"
Since then, the actor has shared snaps of himself and Edie on his social media page.
Callum shared a photo to his Instagram on 15 December of him and his on-screen sibling, Daisy Waterstone, which was also posted to Edie's Instagram Stories.
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© InstagramNicholas Ralph
Much like Callum, Nicholas doesn't give much away when it comes to his love life. He has, however, previously revealed that Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow is his celebrity crush, while Cape Town, where he was born, is the "love of his life".
The Scottish actor told The Sun: "I love going back. I feel completely at ease in Cape Town."
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© Dan Wooller/ShutterstockAnna Madeley
While her character has been unlucky in love, Anna's real romantic life couldn't be more different. The actress is in a relationship with actor Geoffrey Streatfeild, who's perhaps best known for playing Calum Reed in the BBC spy drama, Spooks, and Fergus Williams in the sitcom, The Thick of It.
More recently, he portrayed Tom Southern in Netflix's political drama, Anatomy of a Scandal, starring Sienna Miller and Michelle Dockery. He also played Edward IV in The Hollow Crown.
The couple like to keep their private lives out of the spotlight and so little is known about their relationship.
