Peter Davison, 69, rose to fame in the BBC TV adaptation of James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small stories, so when he read that there would be a festive reboot this year, he was shocked. Describing the feeling of knowing the series was so successful that it’s still in the schedules today as “scary” but “gratifying”, he noted there might have been a tinge of jealousy in the midst, too.
In a recent interview, he opened up on his first thoughts about the 1978 drama revival.
“It’s slightly scary, but gratifying,” he said.
“When I heard they were remaking All Creatures, there was a tinge of, ‘How dare they?’ But I gather it’s very good.”
The Christmas specials aired six episodes on Channel 5, starring Callum Woodhouse as Tristan Farnon alongside Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley and Rachel Shenton.
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And it was apparently so well-received that it’s been renewed for a second series.
But the classic instalments will always be just that – classics.
And Callum, who has revived Peter’s role of Tristan, was over the moon that he might be wearing the same iconic Fair Isle sweater that the original cast member donned back in the day.
“When I was doing some research before the show, I found a Pinterest board called ‘Tristan Knitwear,'” he said.
“I wish I could wear that kind of thing in day-to-day life, but I feel if I did everyone would go, ‘Oh, it’s Tristan’.
“People would think I was turning into the character!”
The Channel 5 reboot was filmed at the backend of 2019 and early in 2020 before coronavirus shut down all productions.
In the heart of Yorkshire during the winter, those thick Fair Isle’s were a godsend for the actor.
“You’re dressed in these three-piece tweed suits with a thick sweater underneath,” Callum went on to tell Radio Times.
“But every day when I arrived on set, I’d still put thermals on underneath, because it was bitterly cold.
“If we end up doing series two in summertime, I might be in trouble.”
Peter and Callum’s full interviews are available to read now in Radio Times.