All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special 2025: Release date, cast, plot, trailer and latest news

There are two very big reasons why this year's All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special is set to be a corker: it's the first Christmas following the end of the war, and Rachel Shenton will also be back on our screens as Helen following her absence for the second half of season 6.

"We had wind of it," Callum Woodhouse said of her return. "There was talk of it, but it was never definite because you just don't know. You don't know if it's going to work out.

"But we had her for about a week in the end and it was a really glorious week. We all got to see the baby, who's absolutely adorable. And we had some family dinners, which Patricia [Hodge, who plays Mrs Pumphrey] and Gaia [Wise, who plays Tristan's new girlfriend Charlotte] came to as well. So it was like an extended family dinner. It was a really good week."

Anna Madeley also acknowledged it was a "huge ask" for Shenton to come back to work given she'd only just given birth – although they had shot a couple of scenes "really early on in the series, just in case".

"And then it was a case of just seeing how everything was. But we missed her [when she wasn't here], so it was really lovely [to have her back]."

But what awaits them all in the festive episode? And when can you watch it?

Read on for everything you need to know about this year's All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special.

All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special 2025 release date: When will it air?

This year's festive special will air on Wednesday 24th December at 9pm on 5.

Companion documentary All Creatures Great & Small: Behind the Scenes, which explores the set on which the TV series is filmed, as well as revealing production secrets, is also set to air on the same day at 8pm.

All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special 2025 cast: Who's returning?

The confirmed returning cast of the special is as follows:

• Nicholas Ralph as James Herriot
• Rachel Shenton as Helen Alderson
• Samuel West as Siegfried Farnon
• Callum Woodhouse as Tristan Farnon
• Anna Madeley as Mrs Audrey Hall
• Gaia Wise as Charlotte Beauvoir
• Thomas Riches as Jimmy Herriot
• Isabella Ward as Rosie Herriot
• Patricia Hodge as Mrs Pumphrey
• Mollie Winnard as Maggie
• Susan Hilton as Mrs Stokes

All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special 2025 plot: What will happen?

"It's Christmas 1945 and Darrowby is preparing for its first peacetime festive season," reads the official synopsis.

"With Helen unwell, James steps in to organise the village Nativity, but juggling rehearsals and veterinary duties proves challenging, especially when Tricki's future as a father comes into question.

"Siegfried returns to Mrs Stokes' Farm, where Hilda the goat is causing trouble again.

"At Skeldale, Mrs Hall rallies the team for the Drovers' darts competition, while Tristan scrambles to sort the Christmas tree, with help from Charlotte.

"As old friends reappear and heartfelt conversations unfold, the festive spirit brings laughter, reflection and a few surprises."

Is there a trailer for the All Creatures Great and Small 2025 Christmas special?

Not yet. As soon as it arrives, we'll pop it right here.

This 2025 All Creatures Great and Small festive special will air on Wednesday 24th December at 9pm on 5.

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