By Matthew Moore

Copyright hellomagazine

Fans will no doubt be over the moon when All Creatures Great and Small returns to screens on Thursday. The series takes place in 1945, and a synopsis teases that “our beloved Skeldale gang in a somewhat different situation”. And one of those characters who has changed a lot is Tristan Farnon, played by Callum Woodhouse, who will be returning to Darrowby following his military service in World War II. And in a roundtable discussion with HELLO! and other media, the 31-year-old actor teased how much the popular character has changed since the first series.

“He has changed quite dramatically,” he told us. When asked about the changes and whether Tristan was now the more mature brother, he teased: “I don’t know if I’d say he’s the more mature brother. He’s definitely changed a lot since series one. I was weirdly watching some of series one the other day and it’s interesting. There are a lot of elements and traits of Tristan that are very much still there.

“But he has changed quite dramatically. A lot of that is because of the state of the world that these characters are in. He’s been away, and he’s been serving on the front lines, and it’s probably matured him a lot quicker than he maybe would have otherwise, and he’s got a lot more common ground now with his brother, as well as just maturing on his own terms.”

Speaking about what’s in store for the character now that the war has concluded, Callum said: “There’s an element of him being slightly unsure of what his purpose is moving forward. He’s backed away from being a vet and working for Skeldale. And so now that the war is over, he’s like, ‘okay, so what? What am I going to do now, then?'”

What else to expect from the show’s return

The season’s official synopsis reads: “But, this time, we find our beloved Skeldale gang in a somewhat different situation as we join them in 1945, just as the war in Europe is coming to a close. We arrive back in Darrowby to veterinary advancements, expanded families, and new faces as they all look ahead to a brighter and more peaceful future. This series will see Herriot’s wonderful characters navigating the opportunities that a new world brings, a host of animals great and small, and of course, each other.”

The show will feature returning stars Nicholas Ralph as vet James Herriot, alongside his on-screen wife Helen, played by Rachel Shenton. Samuel West is also returning as James’s brilliant yet erratic business partner, Siegfried Farnon. Meanwhile, Anna Madeley is the dutiful Mrs Hall and Callum Woodhouse plays Siegfried’s cheeky brother, Tristan Farnon. Other returning cast members include Patricia Hodge as Mrs Pumphrey, Tony Pitts as Helen’s father, Richard Alderson, and Imogen Clawson as her younger sister, Jenny.

However, there are plenty of new faces for the new series as well. These include Lucy-Jo Hudson (Hollyoaks), Gaia Wise (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim), Jonathan Hyde (The Brutalist), Philip Martin Brown (Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy) and Chris Gascoyne (The Feud, Patience).