Hit creature comforts drama All Creatures Great and Small is back on Channel 5, and when it comes to this new season everyone's mind is on one thing - the wedding.

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Rachel Shenton has teased that it's set to be a lovely affair, and we now know it will take place in the first episode of season 3, so get your tissues at the ready.

The show's cast will continue to feature Nicholas Ralph, Samuel West, Anna Madeley, Rachel Shenton, and Callum Woodhouse, and the series will once again be based on James Herriot's real-life memoirs.

While James and Helen's marriage will make for a big change in the characters' lives, Nicholas Ralph also recently revealed that there will be a new dynamic at work for his character James and Samuel West's Siegfried.

He said that James will be "trying to steer Siegfried, slowly but surely, down newer, more modern roots of keeping the practice up to speed with the modern day" but that this leads the pair to "come to loggerheads".

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But when does the new season start on Channel 5? Read on for everything you need to know about All Creatures Great and Small season 3.

All Creatures Great and Small season 3 release date

James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) & Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton) in All Creatures Great and Small.
James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) and Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton) in All Creatures Great and Small. Channel 5

Good news! All Creatures Great and Small starts at 9pm on Thursday 15th September 2022 on Channel 5, meaning the wait is almost over.

Fans have been desperate to see how James and Helen's wedding would play out ever since he proposed at the end of season 2, and star Nicholas Ralph has teased that it will be an "absolutely brilliant" watch.

Season 2 was set in 1938, and addressed the possibility of an impending war against Germany. In season 3, we're set to hit 1939 and the outbreak of war – and the next five seasons would also take place during wartime.

Ralph told RadioTimes.com that while the season would still be "full of love, laughter, all the good things that people enjoy", the shadow of war does make it somewhat "bittersweet".

The series has also been renewed for a fourth season, and while showrunner Ben Vanstone has said he originally considered All Creatures Great and Small to be a four-season drama, he has since changed his mind.

He said: "I think that when we started the show, we had in mind arcs for these characters that took them across a number of seasons and initially, it was kind of four seasons. But everything in this show plays out slower than you think it would."

All Creatures Great and Small season 3 cast

All Creatures Great and Small: Series 3
James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph), Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton), Tristan Farnon (Callum Woodhouse), Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) and Mrs Hall (Anna Madeley) in All Creatures Great and Small.

Season 3 of All Creatures Great and Small will see all of the main cast members returning, including Nicholas Ralph as James Herriot and Samuel West as Siegfried Farnon.

Meanwhile Rachel Shenton reprises her role as Helen Alderson, a local farmer’s daughter whose will-they-won’t-they romance with James was finally resolved at the end of season 2, with the first episode of season 3 focussing on their wedding day.

Callum Woodhouse and Anna Madeley will also be back as Tristan and Mrs Hall respectively, while Patricia Hodge returns as Mrs Pumphrey, after she took over the role in season 2 following the death of Dame Diana Rigg.

Here's a full list of the cast we know are returning for All Creatures Great and Small season 3:

  • Nicholas Ralph as James Herriot
  • Samuel West as Siegfried Farnon
  • Rachel Shenton as Helen Alderson
  • Callum Woodhouse as Tristan Farnon
  • Anna Madeley as Mrs Audrey Hall
  • Patricia Hodge as Mrs Pumphrey

All Creatures Great and Small season 3 trailer

You can watch the full trailer for All Creatures Great and Small season 3 right here now.

You can order James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small from Amazon.

All Creatures Great and Small returns for season 3 at 9pm on Thursday 15th September on Channel 5 and My5. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

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