All Creatures Great and Small's Samuel West teases 'lovely' Tristan and Siegfried moment

The TV adaptation of vet James Herriot's cherished books has become a staple of Channel 5 drama and as All Creatures Great And Small prepares to return for a fifth series, the stars have been giving an insight into what fans can expect.

And Samuel West, who plays Siegfried Farnon, has teased a 'lovely' moment between him and Tristan Farnon (Callum Woodhouse). At the end of series three, viewers were left heartbroken when fan-favourite Tristan left the show. The young vet decided to leave Darrowby to fight in the war, resulting in an unexpected emotional goodbye from his older brother Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West).

However, Tristan is making a return home in the upcoming six-episode series as first images reveal him alongside his brother and best friend James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph).

When asked about what he loves about hos role still five series on, the atcor said: "He still surprises me. He’s got depth. I like that he’s funny. I like that he doesn’t really care what other people think of him very much. I like that he’s too absent-minded to bear a grudge because he never remembers what it was."

He also teased a scene between him and the returning Tristan which he describes as "lovely". He said: "There’s a very lovely scene, a long scene, in this series where Tris and I get drunk on a walk and I have to admit to him that I may have inadvertently driven someone away. And also, as Carmody points out… he triggers a dreadful realisation that life is passing me by and I had become set in my ways.

"I like the fact that he isn’t happy with that, he is quite conservative, with a big and a small c, but he wants to be a forward-looking person. He wants to be inspired by young people. He adores children, and he has come suddenly upon his heart. It’s bigger and healthier than he thought it was. There’s some growing up to do with relationships for Siegfried in this series, in particular about Carmody…"

West also admitted series 5 has some lovely animal storylines. He said: "We have a few species we’ve never met before. The pygmy goats, which I was totally charmed by – I thought they were wonderful value and spent a lot of time talking to them. And the snake was beautiful, and I very much liked getting close to."

Meanwhile, Woodhouse says his plan was always to return. He stated: "It was really nice to take the time away to do other projects and then come back home to my family really. It was slightly daunting in the sense of, 'Is it going to feel weird? Am I going to feel a bit out of the loop?' but my first day back was a full day in the in The Drovers, which is probably the best place to film Tristan’s first scenes back.

"And I remember coming back, we did the morning and warmed into it, and then coming back after our lunch break it didn’t feel like I’d been away at all to be honest. I just slotted back in so comfortably and so well and was having all of the same banter and jokes with all of the same cast and crew that’s still with us from series one. Yes, it was just really lovely."

The synopsis for the first episode of series 5 reads: "In Darrowby, Mrs Hall and Helen attend a community meeting about the local war effort. Siegfried is under pressure to keep the surgery going in James and Tristan’s absence and leans on Carmody for more help.

Meanwhile, at RAF Abingdon, James and his RAF crew prepare for an important training flight. James reassures a young crew-mate, Banerjee, that it’s natural to feel nervous. But as they’re about to take off on their flight, James is unexpectedly grounded.

James is examined by the Medical Officer who delivers some surprising and disappointing news. A concerned Helen is confused by James’ refusal to come home, but he doesn’t want to let his team down. James’ dismay only deepens when the flight he should have been piloting comes under enemy fire.

James is sent to do farm labour but steps in when a cow is having a difficult calving. James is reinvigorated, remembering his purpose as a vet. Meanwhile, Helen supports Dot Fawcett and helps solve the puzzle of her cat, Frisk. Carmody’s new surgery triage system gets him in to trouble with Siegfried and Mrs Hall signs up to help the community. James finally returns home. Everyone is overjoyed to have him home again and the family is reunited."

All Creatures Great Great And Small launches on Channel 5 on Thursday, September 19 at 9pm and is also available on My5