All Creatures Great And Small's James Herriot star left 'fearing for safety' over traumatic birth

Nicholas Ralph, the star of the popular TV show All Creatures Great And Small, has shared his fears when filming a particularly challenging scene. The actor, whose character James Herriot is preparing to celebrate his son's Jimmy’s first birthday in the upcoming Christmas special, had to mimic a real life vet to the extreme scenario while filming a scene involving a nervous horse giving birth.

Nicholas opened up about his scary experience, and said to The Mirror: "One of the scariest was I had to birth a foal in season three. So I was there at the back end of this massive horse with its steel feet next to my head. And at one point it had to be on its side and then it had to be rolled over (as) the foal was twisted."

He continued that she terrifyingly flinched while he was behind it, too: "So I was lying Superman at the back end of this massive horse and at one point she flinched as well. I shot across the other field because my head was right next to massive feet, and they always tell you, stay away from the back end of these big animals. And that is the place I always am.

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He laughed and added that he's "always at the back end of cows and horses" but this was by far the "scariest." The Scottish actor, 33, is the star of a show about a vet in the 1930s Yorkshire Dales, alongside Anna Madeley, Samuel West and Rachel Shenton, who are also in the cast.

The show has been a hit in the UK since 2020 and they've worked with lots of animals, from dogs to sheep. Based on the much-loved book series, written by real-life vet Alf Wight, this Channel 5 version is an updated retelling of the BBC series that ran from 1978 to 1990.

Nicholas continued to laugh, adding that he has seen a "few escapees" over his time on set including "flocks of sheep that have just gone selling off across the Yorkshire Dales when we've needed them."

All Creatures Great And Small's Christmas special is on Channel 5 on Monday, 23 December at 9pm