'All Creatures Great & Small's First Images Introduce New Faces for Season 6

It's still the doldrums of August across the Northern Hemisphere, but the heat broke this week, and the time of year known colloquially in the American South as "False Fall" has arrived. (Don't worry, U.K. friends, our A/C units aren't done quite yet; September will be here soon to remind us all that climate change is inevitable now.) However, the first taste of fall has also brought along one of the annual traditions of autumn and winter: All Creatures Great & Small. The series, which traditionally airs and streams in the U.K. as soon as the weather turns, and in the U.S. just after New Year's, serves as TV's reminder that colder weather is approaching.

After two seasons of World War II as background noise, All Creatures Season 6 will do a small time jump forward and skip to the end. The new season will open in 1945, as the war draws to a close and the British economy severely tanks in that way only former empires can. In Yorkshire, it'll be a bit of getting back to business as usual, as the few survivors straggle on home to deal with mental health issues that have yet to be officially named. 

However, with the collapse of the British economic situation, everything is up in the air. Technological change is just around the corner, albeit slightly slower to take hold in England, especially the northern regions. But that's the reality of linear time. It never stops bringing changes.

Here's the official Season 6 synopsis:

Season 6 takes us back to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales for more heartwarming human
and animal tales 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 season 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.

Season 6 will see the return of the series ensemble: Nicholas Ralph as James and Rachel Shenton as his wife, Helen; Samuel West as Siegfried and Callum Woodhouse as his brother, Tristan; Anna Madeley as matriarch Audrey Hall, and Patricia Hodge as Mrs Pumphrey and Dora as her adored, pampered Pekingese, Tricki-Woo. Tony Pitts rounds out the core cast as Helen’s father, Richard Alderson, and Imogen Clawson as her younger sister, Jenny. 

Returning guest stars for Season 6 will include Mollie Winnard as barmaid Maggie, Conor Deane as Mrs. Hall's son Edward, plus Lamin Touray and Cat Simmons as friends-of-the-family Tom and Grace Chapman.

Season 6 will also introduce a few new characters, although it's unclear whether these are one-time guest stars or characters with the potential to recur in future seasons. They include more established actors recognizable on both sides of the pond, including Jonathan Hyde (The Brutalist), Philip Martin Brown (Death Comes to Pemberley), and Chris Gascoyne (Patience).  

The other two guest stars are lesser-known in the U.S.; however, the series included both of them (and their character names) in the press release. U.K. soap opera staple Lucy-Jo Hudson (Hollyoaks) will play Susan, while relative newcomer/Emma Thompson's daughter Gaia Wise (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim) will play Charlotte Beauvoir.

Ben Vanstone, who stepped away as lead writer for Season 5, returns for Season 6 along with a writers' room that includes Neil Jones, Karim Khan, Robin French, Nessah Muthy, Nick Leather, and Damian Wayling. Season 6, with directors Brian Percival and Andy Hay returning to helm episodes, along with Stewart Svaasand. Yvonne Francas returns as Producer.

Vanstone and Percival continue as executive producers, alongside Colin Callender, Melissa Gallant, Sharon Moran & Alexis Hood for Playground; Louise Pedersen & David Swetman for All3Media International; Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece; and Sebastian Cardwell, Paul Testar & Greg Barnett for 5.

All Creatures Great & Small Season 6 will debut on Channel 5 in the U.K. in the fall of 2025, followed by PBS airing and streaming the series in the U.S. in early 2026. Seasons 1 through 5 are streaming on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel and for members on PBS Passport.