Podcast to share family tales about James Herriot

The children of famous Yorkshire vet James Herriot are set to take part in a podcast sharing his "life, work and legacy".

The author, real name Alf Wight, was known for writing about country life in the Yorkshire Dales and his books were later developed into hit TV series All Creatures Great and Small.

His children Jim Wight and Rosie Page said they wanted to share their memories of their father, who died in 1995 aged 78, on The Real James Herriot Podcast.

"We are the two people who knew Alf, the man, better than anybody else in the world, compared to the persona James Herriot, which a lot of people know about," Rosie said.

The siblings said the idea for the podcast came from the team at the World of James Herriot, a Thirsk visitor attraction set in Herriot's 1940s home and surgery.

His first book, If Only They Could Talk, was published in 1970 and despite a small initial print run of 3,000 went on to be published in 26 languages.

The long-running BBC series All Creatures Great and Small and several feature films followed.

"He always appealed across the board to any age and any intellect," Rosie added.

"One of his greatest legacies is that all his works, be they the books, the first TV series or any of their adaptations, they give people an awful lot of comfort and joy."

Jim said he had known Herriot as a father, colleague and a vet after working with him.

"All the stories are based on fact, and of course he had rich pickings because farms in those days were full of men, not machines," he said.

"I'm so pleased that he's written these books because he's preserved that way of life for the vet, the countryman, the farmer that has almost disappeared."

The siblings will also be joined by Herriot's former veterinary colleague Peter Wright, who now appears in the Yorkshire Vet TV series.

"I think he'd be very proud," Herriot's son said of his legacy.

"He believed that his book was good enough and he wasn't going to give up.

"Self-belief, determination, and that's why I had a great admiration for him."

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