All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special 2024: release date, cast, plot and everything we know

The All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special 2024 is on its way, a true Christmas delight. And we now have a release date!

The highlight of last year's Christmas special was baby Jimmy being born, so we know that Jimmy will be celebrating his first birthday in the festive episode.

The main cast is all expected back with Nicholas Ralph as James, Rachel Shenton as Helen, Samuel West as Siegfried, Callum Woodhouse as Tristan and Anna Madeley as Mrs Hall.

The show's director Andy Hay tells us: "There's an unusual Christmas in 1941, and we see the Skeldale House family's war effort. Things are tough, as it's just before the Americans join the war, and it's not an expansive Christmas, but people do their best, and it's clever how Mrs Hall manages. Everyone's pulling together through a difficult time. It's heart-warming because they're great at facing issues together."

Here's everything we know...

All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special 2024 release date

The All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special 2024 will air on Monday, December 23, at 9 pm on Channel 5 and will also be available on My5.

In the US, All Creatures Great and Small season 5 begins on Sunday, January 12, 2025, at 9/8c on MASTERPIECE on PBS. We don't yet have a US release date for the Christmas episode.

All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special 2024 plot

We don't have any official plot details yet other than it's Christmas 1941, but we do know it will be baby Jimmy's first birthday. The plot is expected to continue from the end of All Creatures season 5, with both James and Tristan back from their war effort. Tristan has so far put on a brave face about his time in Egypt but could he be hiding something?

James, though, has been traumatized by losing his aircrew and is also battling an illness that keeps returning. Luckily he and Helen have the world's easiest baby to look after in baby Jimmy who seems to just smile all the time and never cry! Might we see more of Miss Grantley, who Siegfried took a shine to, or might things finally develop between him and Mrs Hall? So far Darrowby appears to have been the place to be during World War Two. Skeldale House seems to have an ample supply of booze and food! Indeed, Mrs Hall had so many strawberries she didn’t know what to do with them all!

Cast

All the key cast are expected back. The one doubt is James Anthony-Rose as Richard Carmody. The young vet has taken a position in London, but perhaps he might make a surprise visit.

Is there a trailer?

No, not yet.

All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special 2024 behind the scenes and more

The Christmas episode has been written by James Crichton and directed by Andy Hay. Debbie O’Malley is the executive producer. The production company is Playground (Howards End, Wolf Hall, The Hardacres).