Latest news with #AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall
ABC News
27-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
More support available for vets facing mounting mental health pressures
Having worked as a vet for five decades, much of it with animals across the remote north of Western Australia, Dave Morrell often finds himself reflecting on his career path. His time as a vet began humbly, living in a caravan with his family, taking consultations at the park's entrance and operating on clients' kitchen tables. But while his dedication to the animals of Broome and the West Kimberley has not faded, the demanding pace and long hours can take a heavy toll. "The other night, I started work at one in the morning and I finished a cattle boat at 7am," he said. "Then I had to drive 400 kilometres and prick test cattle all day. "I was very weary at the end of the day." Dr Morrell said the frustration of not being able to heal every animal had affected him deeply when he was a younger vet. "I broke down in tears a few times, feeling I was inadequate and I couldn't fix everything that was presented to me," he said. Dr Morrell said it was the shattering of romantic "James Herriot notions" upon entering the field, as well as low compensation and general under-appreciation, that vet professionals struggled with most. James Herriot was a British veterinary surgeon best known for writing books about his practice in the Yorkshire Dales, which were adapted for the All Creatures Great and Small television series and film. Research shows veterinarians are four times more likely to die by suicide than the general population, and two times more likely than other healthcare professionals. Additional funding is now being allocated to a program aimed at easing the emotional toll of the role. Research commissioned by the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) in 2021 found that challenging client interactions, workplace bullying, long hours, and high workloads were among the most common factors contributing to the condition of vet workers' mental health. More than 66 per cent of respondents said they had experienced a mental health condition, compared with 43 per cent of the general population. On the back of the study, the AVA launched a veterinary wellness initiative delivering psychological health and safety awareness training sessions. It was made available to 50 workplaces between September 2023 and December 2024. Kelley Johnson, a former veterinary nurse and now manager of a vet hospital in Melbourne, jumped at the opportunity to participate. She said the program facilitator had asked her colleagues and staff members questions, and their answers were submitted anonymously before being displayed for all to see. "I suppose I thought there were a lot of areas where I felt we were doing really well as employers and managers, and we found that we weren't. "We discovered that there was conflict that we weren't aware of. There were people that were feeling less than psychologically safe." AVA vice-president Diana Barker said the pilot version of the program had received "a massive amount" of positive feedback. The AVA has now been awarded a grant of nearly $190,000 from the non-profit Zoetis Foundation to expand its program. "This will allow us to expand our Cultivating Safe Teams program, so we intend to make this program available to every single individual veterinary team member in Australia, either online or face-to-face," Dr Barker said. The grant funds will also be used to develop a program called CST ACTION, intended to help workplaces implement strategies to ensure working as a veterinary professional does not negatively affect mental health. Dr Morrell said he was happy to hear that help was being provided. "It's good to see that they're aware of the issue and addressing it, and I hope the people who are in a bad way take advantage of it," he said. The AVA is planning a second veterinary wellness study for later this year.
The Sun
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
All Creatures Great and Small star reveals Channel 5 bosses REFUSED to have her back for remake
CAROL Drinkwater revealed Channel 5 bosses have snubbed her for the remake of All Creatures Great and Small. The star, who starred as Helen Herriot in all three series of the charming TV show, was once one of the highest-paid actresses at the BBC. 4 Carol, 77, now lives in France with her filmmaker husband, Michel Noll, and is a thriving author. Despite her success, Carol admits that it was a "mistake" leaving the show and has since been cast aside by producers who are planning on rebooting the programme. Speaking to MailOnline she said: "I'd love to have played Mrs Pumphrey in the All Creatures reboot but they wouldn't give it to me. Leaving All Creatures was also a mistake financially. 'What do you think you're doing?' my father asked at the time. "'You're giving away the best card in your hand!' But I don't go in for regrets - it's a waste of energy." Carol and Michel live on a ten-acre olive farm in the south of France, where she writes her Mediterranean travel books, which inspired a series of TV documentary films. The beloved drama returned in 2020 and captured audiences' hearts with the quaint tales of rural Yorkshire life. Following five successful series, viewers have been eagerly awaiting news on whether James Herriot and the gang would be back for more. The beloved cast have now been given the green light to start filming for the much-anticipated sixth series. Earlier this year, Samuel West, who plays Siegfried Farnon, took to social media and unveiled a snapshot of a clapperboard revealing that production for the new episodes already has begun. Taking to X - formerly Twitter - he teased: "Thanks for your kind comments about #AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall Season Five. "Never long enough... Sad that it's over, but we hope this will raise spirits; we started filming Season Six today, More news later." The show's official Twitter account also posted the clapperboard in its own announcement. They teased: "Attention #ACGAS fans. Exciting news the cast and crew have officially kicked off filming for Season 6 in beautiful Yorkshire today! We can't wait to return to Darrowby with all of you soon." Fans rushed to the comment section to share their excitement, with one writing: 'It's that time of year again, and I couldn't be happier about it." Another added: 'You don't understand how excited I am about this.' A third penned: "Fabulous love this programme, can not wait." A fourth said: "So exciting such a long wait!" A fifth chimed in: "The best show on TV." The release date has not been confirmed, but the new episodes are expected to air on Channel 5 in autumn. 4 4 4
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
I still get royalties from All Creatures Great And Small... five decades on! says CAROL DRINKWATER
Carol Drinkwater is an author and actress best known for playing Helen Herriot in the original BBC dramatisation of All Creatures Great And Small. After three series on the hit TV show, based on the James Herriot novels, the 77-year-old carved out a successful career as an author. Her Olive Farm quartet of books have sold more than a million copies. Her later Mediterranean travel books inspired a series of TV documentary films. She has lived in France with her French filmmaker husband, Michel Noll, since their marriage in 1988, and has two step-daughters from his first marriage. What did your parents teach you about money? My actress sister Linda (who was married to the late Man About The House star Brian Murphy) and I grew up in a Kent village near Bromley. My father Peter, the son of a Brixton cab driver, was very much a self-made man. After working as a band leader, he became a theatrical agent and made quite a lot of money – enough to have me educated privately. My mother Phyllis, an Irish farm girl, came to England to train as a nurse but stopped working after marrying Daddy and starting a family – ever afterwards she was dependent on him financially, but it was a tempestuous marriage and sometimes, if he was away working, there was no money to buy the essentials. I therefore grew up determined to be financially independent. Both my parents encouraged me to dream big – Mummy used to say, 'Think champagne and you'll drink champagne'. And from the age of ten, Daddy got me typing up contracts for his agency, earning sixpence a contract. By Friday, I'd have sometimes made ten shillings, so I learnt the value of money at an early age. Have you ever struggled to make ends meet? Yes, as a young actress when I was doing a bit of telly here and there. I rarely went on the dole because I felt there was a kind of shame to doing so, but worked as a waitress in the evening, or did temping work so I could pay the electricity bills in my rented flat. I'm still terrified of getting into debt all these years on. Have you ever been paid silly money? I was paid £250 an episode when I first joined All Creatures in the late 1970s, but by the time I left the show three series later I was the highest-paid actress at the BBC. I got £5,000 to appear in a couple of one-off episodes – although it was 'peanuts' compared to what an actor in a hit TV drama can earn today. The wonderful thing about All Creatures is that even now I get royalties as the show is still being aired. Three or four times a year I'll get a cheque for a few thousand pounds. It's like magic money! What was the best year of your financial life? I signed a six-figure book contract in the Nineties but Michel and I needed the money to bail out his film company, which nearly went bust after a partner on a movie project let him down badly. A series of Amazon Kindle novellas I wrote from 2010-2015, such as Hotel Paradise, also did very well, topping the charts in both the US and Germany. That was seriously good money. The most expensive thing you bought for fun? A nearly new, top-of-the-range navy blue Mercedes convertible, costing £45,000 in the late 1980s. I loved driving it along the French Riviera in a silky top and sunglasses –- in the days before I became more environmentally aware. It gave me a decade-plus of fun, though it wasn't cheap to run. What is your biggest money mistake? Our ten-acre olive farm in the south of France has proved cripplingly expensive and a money pit, and frankly it's getting a little beyond us now. I'm considering whether it's time to move on, though it would break my heart to do so. Leaving All Creatures was also a mistake financially. 'What do you think you're doing?' my father asked at the time. 'You're giving away the best card in your hand!' But I don't go in for regrets – it's a waste of energy. I'd love to have played Mrs Pumphrey in the All Creatures reboot but they wouldn't give it to me. Best money decision you have made? Buying our olive farm might have been a mistake financially, but it's also given me a huge amount of pleasure and the land is now worth a few million. Landing my All Creatures role was like winning the lottery, not just for the job but for the doors it opened, such as working in Australia. Will you pass your money down or spend it all? If I go first, I'd like to make sure Michel is financially secure. I also want to ensure that my step-daughters and grandchildren are OK moneywise when I'm gone. Do you own any property? Yes, a six-bedroom olive farm with a large pool, overlooking the Bay of Cannes, which Michel and I bought for £220,000 in 1985. We also own a 16th century former priest's house near the Champagne area, which I bought for around £180,000 about ten years ago. My father was a great believer in investing in property, and I am too. Do you have a pension? I don't have ISAs or stocks and shares, just a very basic British state pension. If you were Chancellor what would you do? If I'd bumped into Rachel Reeves after the PMQs where she was so tearful, I'd have dabbed her eyes with a hanky and given her a hug. If I was doing the job in France, I'd stop everyone moaning about the age of retirement and trying to get it back to 60. What is your number one financial priority? To ensure Michel and I are secure in the years ahead. I've no plans to retire – I'd like to keep writing until my words are too doddery for anyone to understand.
