'All Creatures Great & Small's Season 6 Trailer Brings the War to a Close

It took three seasons, but World War II is finally coming to an end in All Creatures Great & Small. After the Season 5 Christmas special closed out with the end of 1942, the show is hitting its first significant time jump and picking back up in mid-1945 for Season 6. This is not a bad way to handle the back half of the war, as 1943 and 1944 were both challenging years on the home front and the battlefield for the U.K.. That sort of depressing struggle is the opposite of what the series is designed for: escapism from the horrors of our current reality.

It also means, for those keeping track at home, that James and Helen have had an entire extra baby since we last saw them, with a girl, Rose Herriot, joining James Jr. (known to all as Jimmy), and bringing them up to a family of four. 

However, though All Creatures does its best to keep things light, we should not expect the series to become more hijinks-focused in the post-war era. This is still the same show that decided to make World War II a significant set piece, and the aftereffects won't just disappear into some forgotten realm. While James came home relatively quickly and did not return, Tristen did multiple tours as an Army vet and has seen some things done to both humans and animals that would give anyone a severe case of PTSD. He and Siegfried now have something else in common that neither has the language to express.

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 Jonathan Hyde (The Brutalist), Philip Martin Brown (Death Comes to Pemberley), Chris Gascoyne (Patience),  Lucy-Jo Hudson (Hollyoaks), and Gaia Wise (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim).

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. on Thursday, September 25, 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.