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Ralph himself is also new to the fold the series is the recent Scottish theater grads first TV role.
Note: Extremely low-key spoilers for season one ofAll Creatures Great and Smalllie ahead.
Sam [West] couldnt make it, and did it another day.
Learning how to approach the animal and everything like that.
So I was like, Andy, pick your time when to tell me your stories.
The bull kind of did a 180-degree turn and was walking away.
And thats the take we ended up using.
She handled it so well.
You would never know that she just met that bull not many hours before.
What was the trickiest thing to do?
You talked about the scene where James gets kicked twice by the horse with the abscess.
And I managed to get the timing really well, and thats what they used.
So I was really chuffed with that, actually.
Thats really you?The safety and insurance people let that happen?Thats me, yeah.
The director actually thought I got kicked in the face, so that was a good sign.
So the distance isnt as close as one might expect.
Youre even shirtless when James diagnoses Hughs racehorse, Andante.
Was that standard procedure?Yeah, youre right in there.
So youre right in there really reaching.
But yeah, back in the 1930s, it was sleeveless and bare-chested.
Were you nervous or intimidated?It was an absolute treat.
She still had a twinkle in her eye, you know, a real wicked sense of humor.
But she also kept everybody on their toes.
I remember one scene so were in the manor house shooting, and me and Callum are walking in.
And shes all the way off in the distance because these rooms are so grand.
Mysoulis on the floor.
[Laughs heartily.]
So I think me and Callum jogged in.
Any moments like that, any lulls in a scene, she was right on.
How did she do with Derek, the Pekingese?
And will Mrs. Pumphrey be recast?She got on so well with little Derek.
I think its hard not to because hes just so placid.
Basically a scene-stealer as well.
You have to be on your toes when youre working with little Derek because nobodys looking at you.
I dont know [about recasting].
Mrs. Pumphrey is such a brilliant character, and is there throughout the books.
A large part of the shows charm is the casts chemistry.
Were there surprising or particularly memorable moments when filming?
Sam loves black pudding black pudding is his favorite.
So he asked for a good helping.
I think he was quite hungry, so he had quite a lot.
But then of course we have to do take after take after take.
I think by the end, he was sick to the back teeth of black pudding.
So we really kept each others spirits up.
It [has] a long, thin pull with a little knob on the top.
Just finding a gear … you would just throw it in every general direction and hope something would stick.
And the brakes, the pads are made of wood.
So youd slam the brakes on and you would stop eventually at some point along the way.
]So it took a bit of getting used to.
In the final episode, the Chapman dog Suzys newborn puppies look real.
But they were real puppies in there with Suzy.
That was shot separately and then green-screened in.
They found a dog that was pregnant and filmed her giving birth documentary-style.
And then we got there, and there was just one prosthetic.
That also happened with the birthing of the calf.
There was a documentary team with a pregnant cow, and they got the whole birth.
And we used that interlaced with me and a prosthetic.
Once again, I never got to see the cute young baby animal.
When James and Helen are stuck together, he begins to tell her how he feels but stops.
Instead of going home for Christmas, he turns the Rover around … to do what?
He has got these profound feelings for Helen kind ofburstingout of him.
But hes keeping a lid on it because he wants to be the good guy as well.
He wants to do the right thing.
Hughs not a bad guy.
Maybe he just had this burning hope that she didnt go through with it.
Siegfried promotes James to senior vet after he successfully performs surgery on Mr. Rudds cow Strawberryin episode six.
So maybe hell ease up on him next season?[Laughs.]
Siegfried being Siegfried, I dont see him taking a backseat in any way shape or form.
But yeah, hes got more responsibility now.
But with our adaptation, obviously things have slightly changed.
