Torrid co-star affair rocked All Creatures Great and Small behind the scenes

All Creatures Great and Small fans might think of the Channel 5 period drama as a gentle country show, but there has been plenty of off-screen drama behind the scenes over the years. Though the current iteration of the programme, starring Nicholas Ralph and Rachel Shenton, began broadcasting in 2020, it wasn't the first adaptation of James Herriot's books.

The programme first aired from 1978 until 1990, with Christopher Timothy playing James Herriot and Robert Hardy as Siegfried Farnon. And behind the scenes, Christopher was having a secret romantic affair with his co-star Carol Drinkwater, who starred as Helen until 1985. Afterwards, the character was swiftly recast as Lynda Bellingham.

At first, the pair didn't hit it off. Writing for MailOnline, she said it took "months" before the pair found any "common ground", and confessed: "A friendship that later blossomed into a love affair".

At the time, Carol was in an "on-off relationship" with a fellow actor who she had "loved for several years". She even planned to propose - but after flying out to Texas to see her beau, he revealed he had met someone else.

Soon, she found a "connection" with Christopher, who was still married but separated from his wife and living apart from their six children. She wrote in the Mail: "He told me how his marriage had broken up, months back, before commencement of filming. He was living apart from his six children, struggling to find a solution that caused no one hurt."

By Christmas 1978 the pair were officially together, and the entire crew knew of their secret romance. When the relationship went public, Carol was subjected to vile threats from the public, who branded her a "marriage-breaker".

Sadly, their romance only lasted just over a year. Carol admitted: "Of course we were ill-matched. We discovered that early on, but we remained supportive of one another. After the third series was completed, Chris signed for a season in the theatre, where he met the woman who has been the love of his life ever since.

"We separated amicably and returned for our next stint of filming with no rancour whatsoever."

Carol went on to meet her future husband, Michel Noll, who she married in 1988. The pair live in France together. Christopher, meanwhile, married his current wife Annie Swatton in 1982, after divorcing first wife Susan Boys.