Sadly for fans of young vet Tristan Farnon, he isn’t in All Creatures Great and Small season 4.
Tristan, who's played by Callum Woodhouse, has been a key part of the show, but he has joined the Royal Army Veterinary Corp. His brother, Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West), had tried to prevent his younger brother from signing up. Siegfried was traumatized by his own experiences during World War One and hoped to stop Tristan from going through something similar.
However, Tristan made clear his determination to join up and he is now away with the Royal Army Veterinary Corp, which is responsible for the training and care of animals in the British Army. The Corp actually dates back to the 1790s and during World War Two they cared for animals ranging from horses to elephants.
Talking about life in Skeldale without Tristan, Nicholas Ralph says: "Siegfried is feeling the loss of Tris and not dealing with it well. But the bond between Siegfried and James also becomes tighter, which is nice to play. And the whole family unit blossoms more as well with us and Mrs Hall and then Richard Carmody [a student vet played by rising star James Anthony-Rose, who joins later in the series].”
In terms of the series dynamics, Richard Carmody is in a sense a replacement for Tristan. Anna Madeley reveals that her character, Mrs Hall, misses Tristan a lot.
"She misses his natural mischief and his constant dilemmas in life — that leaves a big hole. I think she's the one that makes sure there's parcels and letters going out to him and hopes that he will take the time to send letters back. She probably tells him off if he doesn't. I think she's the one in the household that will talk about it and suggest to Mr Farnon that he might be missing him, however much he might not want to admit it. She doesn't like the elephant in the room.
"I don't think they sit and talk about it for great lengths of time, but I think just acknowledging it helps. It's something that's happening to all the households gradually in their community, so they're not alone with it. It's reassuring to get letters back."
But hopefully, Tristan will return to the show in the future. Surely this isn't the last we've seen of the mischievous character?!
All Creatures Great and Small season 4 will begin on Thursday 5 October at 9 pm on Channel 5. US viewers watching the show on PBS are likely to have to wait until early 2024.
