All Creatures Great and Small returns to Channel 5 for a fifth series later this month and Nicholas Ralph takes on the role of renowned Yorkshire vet James Herriot. In the new series, James continues his work in the Royal Air Force as a military officer continues.
The Scottish actor, born in 1990, had an interesting start to life, being born in Cape Town, South Africa. He has said he would like to return there someday, telling Masterpiece: “I love Cape Town, so I would love to get out there. It's just wonderful, beautiful.
“You can see Table Mountain from all sides, great golf courses, great wine, vineyards. So I love it there.” He grew up in Nairn, a town in the Scottish Highlands, but also spent some time in America as a teenager.
He has family in Georgia and Texas and said he was very fortunate to travel there, but he hadn't been back since he was 15. Nicholas had an exciting childhood playing college football for Ross County.
He played from primary school until the age of 15 before moving to the Nairn County Under-19 team. Explaining why he missed football, he said: “The one thing I loved and what I really missed when I stopped playing competitive football – because it is a team sport – was the camaraderie.”
“Everyone brings something different to the party, it’s a sense of togetherness.
“I was often the captain of the football team when I was a kid, and I loved it and I really missed it.”
The star studied drama at Inverness College and then the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Just two years after graduating, he auditioned for All Creatures Great and Small.
Before this, he had only performed on stage at the Royal Conservatoire and had experience working on radio.
To work as a renowned rural veterinarian, Nicholas needed to undergo training in veterinary procedures to ensure his work was as accurate as possible.
He worked closely with consultant veterinarian Andy Barrett on set, learning how to handle animals and use equipment.
However, he already had some experience working with livestock, gained while living in Scotland.
Nicholas told Town and Country: 'I grew up in a small town in the Highlands of Scotland, and where we lived was our backyard, a fence and a field that was always full of cows and sheep.
“So I was a little more used to interacting with farm animals than maybe some of the other people on the crew.”
All Creatures Great and Small returns to Channel 5 on September 19.