All Creatures Great and Small is remorselessly cosy ...Middle East

Certain things make more sense at Christmas – among them the charming, chipper and cheesy All Creatures Great and Small. At any time of year, 5’s tale of jolly vets larking about post-war Yorkshire has strong Reindeer-pattern jumper vibes. Dialling that midwinter cheer all the way up, this enjoyably saccharine seasonal special has enough Yuletide sparkle to light up an entire forest of Christmas trees.

Not that many festive firs are to hand as the agreeably low-stakes story opens amid the pre-Christmas chaos. At the Drovers Arms, barmaid Maggie (Mollie Winnard) is disappointed that junior vet Tristan (Callum Woodhouse) has forgotten his promise to sort out a tree for her. Off he trots in a panic, to find a suitable conifer, with new love interest Charlotte (Gaia Wise, daughter of Emma Thompson) for moral support.

Christmas blues are also at play with fellow vet James (Nicholas Ralph). Wife Helen (Rachel Shenton) is bed-bound with a nasty cold, putting their festive plans in jeopardy. Meanwhile, busybody Mrs Pumphrey (Patricia Hodge) wants James to inject her ailing Pekingese Tricki with hormones so that he can father puppies before shuffling off to the doggy playpen in the sky. It is a bad idea – potentially harmful and unlikely to work – but James is initially too polite to say as much out loud.

All of these woes pale, however, in comparison to the pickles confronting Tristan’s older brother, Siegfried (Samuel West). Hilda the goat has eaten too much Christmas laurel and is in a bad way, causing distress both to the earnest vet and Hilda’s doting owner, Mrs Stokes (Susan Hilton).

More upsetting yet, his on/off love interest, Dorothy (Maimie McCoy), has returned from Malta. Busy-body housekeeper Mrs Hall (Anna Madeley) encourages Siegfried to make the most of his second chance at happiness, but he is initially hesitant. What if there is another great love of his life out there somewhere as yet undiscovered? That is a nod towards his unacknowledged chemistry with Mrs Hall, yet she doesn’t seem too bothered when he subsequently treats Dorothy to a chaste snog under the mistletoe.

The historical context for the episode is the fact that Britain is celebrating its first peacetime Christmas after the war. Maggie talks about missing her husband, who never returned from the front line. Tristan, for his part, admits to Charlotte that he has PTSD after fighting the Japanese. There is also the ever-present spectre of rationing, with Christmas trees and turkeys in short supply.

However, these darker overtones are never allowed to ruin the fun. If anything, they throw into stark relief the importance of Christmas. War has done its worst to Tristan. Yet here he is, back in Yorkshire, with friends and family for comfort. The encouraging – if perhaps unrealistic – message is that festive cheeriness can cure every ill.

The story concludes on an upbeat note (it was hardly going to end with everyone brooding about the war). At the Drovers, Tristan, Siegfried, and Mrs Hall triumph at darts – and bag a precious turkey as first prize. Is the poor bird for the chop? Of course not. Instead, the pals and their families tuck into a “murkey” – an ersatz gobbler consistently mostly stuffing and veg – while the actual turkey stretches its legs outdoors.

Revived by 5 in 2020, All Creatures Great and Small remains an unapologetic blend of twee and tweed. It is remorselessly cosy – that rare drama where nobody ever once raises their voice or has an unkind word about anyone. But isn’t that what you want at Christmas?

Like an extra helping of trifle during the ad break of a Bond movie, this Christmas special goes down an absolute treat.

‘All Creatures Great and Small’ is streaming on 5

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