All Creatures Great and Small has dropped the trailer for its upcoming fourth season – and it looks like Helen and James are thinking about starting a family!
The hit Channel 5 period drama, starring Nicholas Ralph and Rachel Shenton, is set to return to our screens this October and promises to bring more "timeless tales" and "heartwarming stories" from 1940s Yorkshire Dales.
In the trailer, Helen shows signs of broodiness while watching local children play in the village.
"We said we'd wait," says James, to which his wife responds: "I know. I'm just not sure what we're waiting for.
"If this war has taught us anything, it's to grab on to the things you love and try and cherish every moment."
© Channel 5Elsewhere in the trailer, trainee veterinary student Richard Carmody (James Anthony-Rose) arrives at Skeldale House from London, but it seems as though his introduction to countryside living doesn't go as smoothly as he might have hoped. One clip shows the undergraduate student slipping and falling into a pile of cowpat – oh dear.
What is All Creatures Great and Small series four about?
The new series picks up in the spring of 1940, with change on the horizon for our beloved Darrowby residents.
"James and Helen wonder when the right time might be to start a family, not knowing whether or not James will be called up to serve in the RAF," the synopsis reads. "Tristan's absence is felt by all, but no one more than Siegfried who attempts to hold the growing household, and himself, together as he braves this new world. Mrs Hall and Helen’s friendship blossoms as they look to the future and new trainee veterinary student Richard Carmody arrives, causing complications in the house."
© Channel 5MORE: Why did the original Helen Alderson leave All Creatures Great and Small?
MORE: All Creatures Great and Small: Meet Samuel West's famous family
Who stars in All Creatures Great and Small series four?
Nicholas and Rachel reprise their roles as James and Helen, alongside Samuel West (Slow Horses, Small Axe) as James' erratic mentor Siegfried Farnon and Anna Madeley (Time, Patrick Melrose) as beloved Skeldale matriarch, Mrs Hall.
© Channel 5Will Thorp (Doctor Who, Silent Witness) also returns as Mrs. Halls' suitor, Gerald Hammond, with Patricia Hodge (Miranda, A Very English Scandal) also back on our screens as the eccentric Mrs Pumphrey.
© Channel 5Fans can also expect to see some fresh faces in the cast. Joining James Anthony-Rose, who plays veterinary student Richard Carmody, is Neve McIntosh (Shetland) as highly efficient bookkeeper Miss Harbottle.
All Creatures Great and Small series four release date
The new six-part series of All Creatures Great and Small arrives on Channel 5 on Thursday 5 October at 9pm, with a Christmas Special airing later in the year.
In the US, MASTERPIECE on PBS will air the new series in early 2024, beginning on Sunday 7 January.
