Nicholas Ralph

Nicholas Ralph is a Scottish actor. He is best known for his role as James Herriot in the Channel 5 remake of the television series All Creatures Great and Small.^[1] The programme is based on a series of semi-autobiographical books by vet Alf Wight featuring a fictional James Herriot and his partners in a veterinary practice in North Yorkshire during the 1930s to the 1960s.^[2]

The first series, six episodes and a special Christmas episode, premiered in the UK on Channel 5 on 1 September 2020 and in the US on PBS as part of Masterpiece on 10 January 2021.^[3] A second series of seven episodes was scheduled to be filmed in 2021, with Ralph returning in the lead role.^[4]

Personal life[]

In early 2021, Ralph provided these specifics about his childhood: "I was actually born in Cape Town ... I was really fortunate—when I was a kid, I had family in Georgia and Texas, so I’ve been over a couple of times. But I haven’t been over since I was 14, 15 years old." The writer of the piece added that Ralph "grew up in the Scottish Highlands."^[5]

As a young man, Ralph played association football, stating, "I played for Ross County from primary school until I was 15 then the travelling back and forth to Dingwall became a bit much so I played for Nairn County under-19s."^[6]

The actor said in one report that he "studied drama at Inverness College and then, at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; the audition for the TV series came two years after graduation. His previous roles were on stage including a number of plays with the Royal Conservatoire, the Citizens Theatre and National Theatre of Scotland, as well as an appearance on the BBC Radio Scotland production Kidnapped."^[7][8]

Ralph added some specifics during an interview with The Herald (Glasgow). After graduating in 2017, he initially, worked in live theatre: "I did rep theatre with the Citizens Theatre for just under a year. I did five shows with them which was fantastic continuation of training." His first lead role was "with National Theatre of Scotland in a play called Interference." Before starting to film the TV series, Ralph did a tour with a Citizens Theatre/Wonder Fools production:^[9] 549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War.^[10]

First starring role[]

For his role as veterinary surgeon James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small, the actor required training in vet procedures for accuracy in the show.^[11] "Straight off the bat with our on-set vet adviser Andy Barrett, we were up close and personal with horses, sheep, kind of going through the procedures and things that we would be doing. Learning how to approach the animal and everything like that. Using the stethoscope on the cow’s heart, then lungs, then stomach..." the actor later recalled.^[12]

Previously, Ralph had limited exposure to livestock: "I grew up in a small town in the Highlands of Scotland, and where we lived, there was our back garden, a fence, and then a field that was always full of cows and sheep... "^[13]

Much of the programme was filmed on location in all kinds of weather. The actor recalled, that "we were in Yorkshire during winter and autumn, and it was freezing, with long, cold, dark days and rainy days, sometimes, so if you had people that were downers, it could really bring everyone down. But we were very fortunate—we had a great group that really pushed each other on and kept each other’s spirits high."^[14]

Although the author of the Herriot books, Alf Wight, had a "soft, lilting Scottish accent," according to Christopher Timothy who played Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series),^[15] the actor was instructed to keep his speech "neutral" for universality when the BBC series was being filmed. That did not apply to Nicholas Ralph when filming the 2020 series for Channel 5; the actor used his genuine Scottish accent.^[16]

Filmography[]

References[]

External links[]

• Nicholas Ralph at IMDb
• Nicholas Ralph on Twitter