All Creatures Great and Small returns to screens on Thursday night with a new Christmas special – and we simply cannot wait to see Skeldale House adorned with tinsel and holly as Darrowby prepares for the festive holiday.
While the drama is adored for its charming characters and heartwarming tales, the picturesque location is also a big attraction for viewers. So, where is the show filmed? We found out…
Although the town of Darrowby where the beloved characters live and work is fictional, the cast and crew headed to Grassington in the southern Yorkshire Dales to provide the perfect 1940s backdrop.
While the majority of indoor scenes were shot in a film studio, a number of real-life landmarks were altered to replicate period buildings such as pubs and bookshops for the episodes. For example, a local bookshop, The Stripey Badger, was used to show a greengrocer. Meanwhile, a pub named The Devonshire, was used to film exterior scenes for the fictional pub, The Drovers Arms, while The Green Dragon in Hardraw doubled as its interior until series three.
Whilst chatting to HELLO! and other journalists ahead of the Christmas special, Samuel West, who plays Siegfried Farnon, revealed that a new set of The Drovers was built for series three and is used for a community Christmas celebration in the upcoming festive special.
"We built the new set of The Drovers this year because the pub we used to shoot in, sadly lost its lease and it wasn't a pub anymore," Samuel explained. "It was also a very long way away down some very narrow dales and we couldn't easily or very quickly get generators up. So we didn't go there very often.
"We realised we were losing a bit of tone because the hub of the community is the pub and so many are closing, that we didn't want to go that way and be the village that didn't spend time in ours," the actor continued. "So as soon as it was possible to do a big scene in the pub, we did one and it's Christmas."
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Fans of All Creatures Great and Small will know that the TV series is based on the literary work of real-life vet James Herriot, aka Alf Wright, who ran his surgeon in the village of Thirsk.
The building where his real practice was located has since been turned into a museum named The World of James Herriot. For scenes depicting Mrs Pumphrey's stately home, the cast and crew headed to the Grade I listed Georgian building, Broughton Hall.
The cast and crew clearly enjoy their time filming in Grassington. Rachel Shenton, who portrays Helen Alderson, previously noted the kindness of the local people that make production enjoyable.
"It was the willingness of the people and enthusiasm of the people which helped so much," she told reporters, adding: "We couldn't have wished for more."