Heartbreaking All Creatures Great and Small Scene Left Its Star "In Pieces"

Set in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930s, the rebooted All Creatures Great and Small retained all the idyllic charm of the original series. But given the time the show was set in, it was inevitable that the war would play a part in it.

And in episode 5 of season 3, we were treated to a simply beautiful scene that left its star 'in pieces'.

Anna Madeley played the housekeeper Mrs Hall throughout the series. And we previously learned that she was estranged from her son Edward after reporting him to the police as a child. Edward had stolen from his employer, but his mother's misguided intervention led to him spending time in a Borstal.

But with Edward about to head off to war with the Royal Navy, he had made contact with his mother and arranged to meet her at the train station.

Madeley beautifully portrayed the mix of emotions as Mrs Hall sat nervously throughout the day, at one point spotting someone she thought might be her son on a train pulling out of the station. Then, just as she was about to give up and leave, Edward (Conor Deane) appeared.

It would have been easy for the writers to make this a moment of pure joy and instant reconciliation. But that would have been unrealistic. Instead, viewers were treated to an awkward conversation between the two that revealed so much about their past.

Mrs Hall offered Edward a tin of homemade shortbread, which used to be his favourite. He declined, saying he didn't have room for it in his kitbag.

But the shortbread brought their conversation to Edward's father. It became clear that he was not speaking to him either, and that Mrs Hall had been ill-treated. She defended her husband, blaming his time on the battlefield for changing the man he was. And Edward described how he feared the war would change him too.

But the real tearjerker came at the end. As Edward's train was pulling away, he leaned out and told his mother he would accept the shortbread. As she tried to hand it to him, it fell to the ground.

In the confusion, she missed what he called out to her. Fortunately, a lady who works at the station (and who we had previously learned was deaf) told Mrs Hall that her son had shouted 'I love you, Mum'.

After reading the script, Madely told the Masterpiece podcast that it left her 'in bits and excited and slightly scared'.

But she also described the scene as 'really fun' to film, if a little 'daunting'.

Perhaps those nerves helped her to give such a splendid performance. Whatever the reason, it was an episode that told the story of a family in a few short but very touching scenes.

Source: Masterpiece podcast.