The Yorkshire Vet meets All Creatures Great and Small's James Herriott: 'He came to Thirsk with a thirst for knowledge'

But recently, we had a totally different trainee. He arrived on the train and appeared at our practice in Thirsk with a thirst for knowledge. As I met him and shook his hand outside our front door, I couldn’t suppress an enormous smile, because this this guy was, quite literally, a Herriot trainee. It is a phrase I have heard many times over recent years, mostly on Tuesday evenings at 8pm. But Nick was the actual modern-day personification of Mr Herriot.

Of course, this vet-to-be was Nick Ralph, the wonderfully talented actor who has found recent fame in Channel 5’s remake of All Creatures Great and Small. He plays James Herriot. In the first episode of series one of the remake, James (or Nick) gets off a bus (not a train) to find his way to Darrowby (aka Thirsk). Today, though Nick was going to spend the day with a real-life vet (me) and I hoped to give him a small glimpse into today’s veterinary world.

Nick would possibly be helping but definitely learning something. He plays a vet, but isn’t one. He gives an excellent interpretation of a vet at work, just as Christopher Timothy did in the 1970s and 80s, inspiring a generation to enter the profession. And yet, as I explained how to place a catheter, induce anaesthesia, and insert an endo-tracheal tube, I was discombobulated. He should know these things, I kept thinking, He’s a vet. I’ve seen him ontelly, being a vet and doing these things.

In theatre, the surgery we were carrying out could not have been more simple. The lump to be removed was small, well-circumscribed and benign. It was a straightforward procedure and, for a real vet’nary, devoid of drama or stress. Perfect. Nick opened the packets for me as instructed, lifted the right lids off suture reels and inserted the rectal thermometer to check the patient’s temperature, with skill. Had he done this before? I wondered.

During the surgery, I quizzed Nick about his actual veterinary experiences, on set and in preparation for filming. Flatteringly, he admitted to watching various episodes of The Yorkshire Vet for reference and research. The irony, and cyclicity, amused me. A vet friend, Andy, who I saw practice with when I was a veterinary student, was the veterinary advisor for the programme and had offered him tips in preparation and supervised some of the scenes.

“Obviously, we can’t do procedures on real animals,” Nick explained, “So we have prosthetic creatures put in place for when I have to roll up my sleeves and get my hand in!”

This explained how he managed to calve a cow without getting his shirt dirty.

“There’s much more blood, slime and s@*t whenever I calve a cow,” I laughed, “And you should take your top off. That’s what I always do because it saves washing so many shirts – I’m sure you’ve got the physique to pull it off,” I added, cheekily.

Later in the afternoon, much like in Herriot’s tales, it was time for clinics. Secretly, I wished for a Thirsk local explaining his dog was “womitting”. “He’s womiting real bad, Mr ‘erriot”. But there was no womiting dog, not even one that was vomiting. No cases of “flop bot” and not even a deceased budgie.But at least I managed to encourage Nick into action. He would discharge the dog whose lump I’d removed earlier.

“Mr Herriot has done a grand job,” I explained to the confused owner.

To watch all our exploits, tune in to “A Grand Yorkshire Christmas” on Channel 5 soon, or on catch up at my5.com.