MENTION Yorkshire to most animal lovers and watch their eyes mist over, as they remember the much-loved television series of their youth, All Creatures Great And Small. Rarely have the Yorkshire Dales appealed to so wide an audience as in this simply, yet beautifully crafted drama.

No doubt some of Ireland’s finest vets have found inspiration in the characters during the fledgling stages of their own careers. Whether it was the well groomed yet somewhat eccentric Siegfried; the more square but honourable James or devil-may-care and frankly idle Tristan, each character brought colour to rural life in 1940s England.