Brian Sinclair (veterinary surgeon) Ministry of Agriculture's Sterility Advisory unit, rising to become head of the Veterinary Investigation Centre in Leeds. He was the model for the character 'Tristan Farnon' in Wight's semi-autobiographical novels, which were later adapted to the big screen in two films, and television under the name "All Creatures Great and Small". The fictional Tristan was portrayed as a charming rogue who was still studying veterinary medicine in the early books, constantly having to re-take examinations because of his lack of application, often to be found in the pub, and subject to tirades from his bombastic elder brother Siegfried. Unlike his
All Creatures Great and Small (TV series) mixed blessing. "After I did "All Creatures", it was eight years before I acted on television again," he recalled. "I remember once going to see my agent and, going up the stairs to his office, hearing him screaming down the phone: 'He's not a vet, he's a bloody actor!'" "I asked Pete [Davison] once, 'How is it that you go from one role to the other and I can't get arrested on television?' He said, 'Because I didn't play James Herriot...' I think there's an element of truth in that." "It was a big slice of my career, for which