All Creatures Great and Small (franchise) "James Herriot", and are set in the fictional town of "Darrowby", based on a combination of Thirsk, Richmond, Leyburn and Middleham.. In the books James Herriot work with fellow veterinary surgeons, Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, based on real-life counterparts, "Donald Sinclair" and his brother "Brian Sinclair" respectively. Wight also used the name "Helen Alderson" for his wife, Joan Danbury. In America the books were collected as pairs into omnibus volumes, as the publisher felt they were too short to publish independently. The title chosen for the first book in the series "All Creatures Great and Small" (and subsequently one of
Robert Hardy Consort in the award-winning 13-hour serial "Edward the Seventh" (known as "Edward the King" to the American audience), which he regarded as one of his best performances. "I thought I'd done a good job there, although I believe the Royal Family didn't like it all. There are always people who don't like what one does." He was seen as the irascible senior veterinarian Siegfried Farnon in the long-running "All Creatures Great and Small" (1978–90), an adaptation of James Herriot's semi-autobiographical books. Hardy also made an appearance in the 1986–88 ITV comedy series "Hot Metal", in which he played the dual