Jace Lacob: I’m Jace Lacob, and you’re listening to MASTERPIECE Studio.

Siegfried Farnon runs a tight ship in the verdant hills of the Yorkshire Dales, but his younger brother, Tristan, is a little… less in control of the rudder.

CLIP

Tristan I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It just tickled me, I’ve never seen a man shout at a cow before.

James I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.

Tristan If you can’t enjoy yourself then what’s the point and the Handshaws certainly appreciated it. As my brother always says, you treat the person not just the animal.

Jace Tris is charming, to be sure, but he’s also a layabout and a scoundrel who hasn’t found a responsibility that he can’t weasel his way out of. He’s a ne’er do well — but a lovable one.

CLIP

Tristan Let’s face it, there’s enough meat on the bone.

Mrs. Pumphrey Excuse me?

Tristan I just mean he’s carrying a little extra timber around the middle. That’s all.

Mrs. Pumphrey Don’t listen to him Tricki. You’re perfect as you are.

Tristan I’m sorry Tricki – I I didn’t mean it.

Jace Back at home after a disastrous term in school, Tristan has assured his brother he’s ready to serve in the clinic. But James Herriot, the new assistant vet, might have something to say about that proposal.

CLIP
James What are you doing?

Tristan Feeding the animals. Has to be done morning and night.

James No, I know that. But why are you doing it?

Tristan Because Siegfried will blow his top if I don’t. Come on Jim, you must be up to speed on this by now.

Jace Callum Woodhouse is already a MASTERPIECE fan favorite for his role on the similarly sunny The Durrells in Corfu, and he returns to the podcast for a look at a new corner of the world in the very same era.

Jace This week we are joined by All Creatures Great and Small star, Callum Woodhouse. Welcome.

Callum Woodhouse Hello! How are you doing?

Jace All Creatures Great and Small is your follow up to The Durrells in Corfu. Are you only selecting projects these days that have both stunning locations and a menagerie of animals to keep you company?

Callum Yeah, and set  in the 1930s as well. I’m clearly wedded to that period. Yeah. I mean, I think I’ve just lucked out in that, you know, like both both jobs I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of have been set in some absolutely stunning, stunning places. It’s like it was, you know, first yeah, But as I said, first off was Corfu. And then second time around, we have the Dales.

Jace You can’t get much better than that, I think.

Callum Yes, it’s really I mean, the only the only the only slight difference is the weather. Yeah, there wasn’t as much sun in the Dales as there was in Corfu. But honestly, it really was just as beautiful wherever you cast your eye. It was like a painting wherever you looked.

Jace All Creatures Great and Small l is tied to the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the James Herriot books, written by Alf Wight. How much awareness did you have for the original adaptation, or the James Herriot books going into this?

Callum Do you know what? None at all. I really didn’t know anything about the the the books. Certainly, certainly not the series. I obviously knew the actors, but many, many Peter Davidson from Doctor Who, to be honest. And then going into the audition, I obviously didn’t want to do too much research for the audition because I thought I might over prepare myself. And then once I got the job, I went in thick with like reading all the books. I got the entire sort of I think it was eight books he’s written. I got all of them. And I started watching episodes, particularly ones that Tristan wasn’t in because I didn’t want to, you know, sort of let Peter Davidson’s performance, like, go into my own subconscious, like, too much. But yeah, I just read the books and just absolutely fell in love with them. You know, sometimes you worry with these types of things, like, is it going to be a slog, sort of trying to get through some of this reading material but from the first chapter of the first book, I was like so into it, so into all the anecdotes and just the way he writes about things and writes about people. And it just made me really, really excited to be able to play Tristan because I remember laughing so much in the first sort of 50 pages and it was all at some of the stuff that Tristan gets to do. So I remember thinking, I hope I get to do that in the show and that type of thing.

Jace The original iteration of All Creatures Great and Small is beloved on both sides of the Atlantic, as are the James Herriot books. Did the locals in Yorkshire offer any advice to you while you were filming this?

Callum I wouldn’t call it advice. We we filmed on a lot of farms around the Dales. And so whenever the farmers who owned these who owned these bits of land said, what are you what are you working on? And we said, the remake of All Creatures Great and Small, the only response was don’t mess it up. And I’ve got to say, I am cleaning that up for this podcast. And it was made some stronger, stronger language used. And that was the main bit of advice we got, really. So, yeah, don’t don’t mess it up, which I don’t think we I don’t think we have.

Jace So you poured over the James Herriot books, what other preparation did you do for the role in terms of working with Andy Barrett at the onset vet to prepare?

Callum Yeah, he took us out for a week. It was the week before we started shooting. He took me, Nick and Rachel out and introduced us to all the animals that we were going to be working with, like calfs and pigs and horses and you know all the all the farmyard sort of animals. And it was just it was incredible getting to be around. Andy and Andy actually worked in Thirsk under the original Siegfried Farnon, which was, you know, he had a lot of stories. And, yeah, he was just really was really passionate about what what he was doing and that made us passionate about it. And it was the perfect sort of precursor to starting starting shooting, you know, having this sort of intensive course with all these animals. It was amazing.

Jace Like the Durrells before it as you say All Creatures is set in pre-war Europe of the 1930s. Leslie Durrell and Tristan Farnan cut from similar cloth. What do you make of the fact that you excel at playing period ne’er do wells with such perfection?

Callum Yeah, it’s weird, it’s not what I thought I’d sort of be doing when I left when I left drama school, but it’s it’s it’s really nice. I thought I didn’t think I’d get to play such a prominent roles. Really. So it’s really. Yeah. It’s really nice to fall into it. Yeah. I mean, you know, there’s so much similarities between the two of them, obviously the way they speak and things. But Tristan, you know, I’ve never I’ve never played a character like him even through the whole time, through drama school or many sort of plays and characters. We got to do that. I don’t think I’ve ever played anyone who’s just so sort of continuously and just constantly upbeat and happy and sort of up for a laugh and doesn’t let things get to him. I mean, he’s obviously, you know, there’s obviously stuff going on under the surface which comes out through his story arc. But, essentially he’s just someone who looks for a good time and will always take the quickest route to the good time. And yeah, it was really, really fun playing someone like that.

CLIP

Tristan Mrs H, you look more youthful and radiant with each passing day.

Mrs. Hall Ooh, I can feel your ribs poking through. You’re wasting away.

Tristan It’s the quality of the cooking, it just can’t compare with the culinary delights I get at home.

Mrs. Hall I was short of time but I managed to rustle you up a bit of tea.

Jace How much crossover is there then between you and Tristan in that way?

Callum Not much. I don’t think I’m as confident as Tristan. So it was nice stepping into the shoes of someone who is a bit more ballsy than I would be.

Jace We meet Tris in episode two as he attempts to get off the train without paying his fare.

CLIP

James Tristan Farnon?

Tristan Whatever you heard, it’s not true, I did not do it.

James Um, no, Siegfried sent me. I’m James Herriot, his new assistant.

Tristan Really? Poor you.

Guard Oi… You need to buy a ticket, Sir.

Jace Ben Vanstone’s script goes so far as to describe Tristan as, quote, puckish, which might be the most apt description of him. What did you make of Tristan as a character when you were reading the script initially? And what do you think makes him tick?

Callum I mean, he really did, like, leap off the page. I mean, Ben Vanstone is absolutely incredible the way that he writes. It’s just a joy to sort of get to say his words. The second I read it, I just wanted to do it. I remember Brian Percival as well talking about it was I think it might even be the day that we shot the train scene. And he was talking about Tristan and his sort of arrival into the series. And he said that the show sort of basically has two first episodes, and that the first episode, you know, Nick, who plays James gets to Darrowby and he gets settled and he finds his footing in this sort of in this veterinary practice. And in the second, Tristan comes out and completely upsets the entire balance that he’s sort of settled in in episode one. And it’s like a new thing from there. I think that’s such a good way of putting it. He’s like a hurricane that comes in and disrupts everything that’s that’s sort of initially been laid down. And yeah, it was fun. Playing someone is sort of like chaotic is on screen, you know.

Jace I love the friendship that develops between Tristan and Jim, a bond that borders on brotherly. How much fun did you have filming with Nicholas Ralph, who plays James Herriot?

Callum But that really turns, you know, like we really did sort of by the end of that first week of meeting each other like we were you know, we were absolutely the best mates. Like, we still chat now and go to the pub as much as obviously not as much through lockdown, but as much as we’ve been able to, we’ve hung out and zoomed and stuff. And yeah, I mean, you know, obviously, as you said, that their relationship goes from strength to strength throughout the show. And I think they really balance each other out as characters. You know, James is very sort of work focused, whereas Tristan is very good time focused and they sort of balanced each other out in the best way. But going back to that, you know, the second episode where they first meet they’re sort of at war with each other, they don’t you know, they’re trying to trying to sort of help each other the whole time and playing sort of jokes on each other and such thing. And that that type of thing is just so much more fun and easy to play when you really, really get on with the person because you can really go for it. And that’s that’s just what made Nick did and get into acts alongside him was a real pleasure.

Jace Tristan’s own brother, on the other hand, Sigfried couldn’t be more different to him, he’s persnickety and he centric. He has a devotion to precision and a role that seems more like a distant father than older brother. Trist described Siegfried as, quote, a lunatic. How would you describe their dynamic as brothers?

Callum Yeah, I think I mean, it was a really big draw for the for the for the part as well. Actually, I remember it didn’t actually make the final show, but there was there was a small scene that was written at the end of the second half of the first draft and about about just about his relationship with his brother. So I got to have a Zoom with Ben and Melissa over all the lockdown. And we just talked about season two when we’re going to go. And I remember saying to Ben that scene that didn’t make it in like we need to do something with it because it’s sort of he really goes into his relationship with his brother and about how, you know, they both lost their dad. But when that happens, Seigfried sort of became his guardian, Tristan’s guardian. And so to that, it must have felt like in one sort of goal, he was losing his dad and his brother and he sort of gained a guardian who wasn’t neither here nor that type of thing. And I think they just had a really weird relationship since Tristan sort of hides it and puts on the process the sort of bravado. But it’s definitely, you know, it definitely it’s definitely going to be unpacked over the course of, you know, however many episodes we get to, we get to do.

CLIP

James You know I don’t plan on leaving any time soon.

Tristan No one ever does. That’s the thing about Siegfried, you never know what he’s going to do until he does it. In truth, neither does he.

Jace Do you see Siegfried as being an unpredictable hand grenade that could go off at any time?

Callum Yeah, he is. But I know Tristan knows his way around Siegfried and how to, you know, get his own way and how to pull the wool over his eyes type of thing. And that that definitely happens over the course, of course, with the series, you know, when when Siegfried starts putting put interest in up to some jobs around around the practice. But, yeah, he is definitely a livewire. You know, he’s he’s he is mental, he’s insane. All the people who knew him and wrote and talked about him all said he was absolutely insane. So I think Sam has done an amazing job of harnessing that.

Callum Oh, amazing. Filming in Grassington was one of some of the most fun we had, you know, like that square. It’s a it’s a full square of actual sort of work in shops. And there’s a bakery, there’s a cafe and a pub. And we you know, we spend time in each each one because the whole place has to be hired out so that we can film there. And just honestly, all the people that couldn’t be more welcoming, I can’t wait to go back and go back to that bakery and get to the breakfast phone from there and a coffee from the other place. And it was so nice. And there was loads of people because it’s such a nice walk walk spot around there as well. So there was there was always so many people who came and just watched by the side. And they were very respectful of, you know, of the work that we were doing. And if we were filming one when people were in the show, we asked them to move around and come and watch it from the other side. And it was just sort of like a full day of people like moving around in a big circle. So we got the full shot and it was like we had the cameras and the little audience. It was like it was like a cross between doing TV and theater almost. We did some shots. And then we get like a round of applause at the end that we didn’t know what to do. But we balance what’s going on and all the people who pass through that. I think it’s a rule in the Yorkshire Dale that you just have to have a dog, you have to have a pet dog. So everyone is walking through all had animals. So so in between takes we were running over and meeting everyone’s dogs and things. And yeah, it was just bliss. It was filming in Grassington was always a real treat. And then at the end of the day we got to have point in the pub. So it was just really. Yeah.

Jace Before this next question, let’s take a quick break to hear a word from our sponsors…

Jace The atmosphere at Skeldale House is that of a lovingly dysfunctional family that forms in this episode. Siegfried is the rather severe father. Mrs Hall is the more affectionate and supportive mother, Tris and Jim, as brothers. What was it like filming the Skeldale House scenes with Nicholas Samuel West and Anna Madeley?

Callum It was always a lot of fun. Yeah, we always ended up having a laugh. Anna and Sam are amazing to work with. You know, they’re real pros of what they do and just both very comfortable on set and make you feel very at ease. And a lot of those scenes that we had to do together, we’re pretty much eating in every single one of them. It’s either a breakfast scene or a dinner scene. And so I think by the end of it, we were a bit sick of eating. But all the stuff that we got to eat was incredible. And it was just about trying to sort of make each other laugh. If someone had, like, a mouthful of sausage or something. And yeah, Anna managed it one me and Nick more than either way around. But yeah, we got on so well. It was always it was always such a lot of fun.

Jace So you weren’t doing that Hollywood style sort of fake eating where you just kind of take a tiny bite.

Callum Oh no, we went absolutely in. And this is the Dales. You’ve got to eat your breakfast.

Jace Were you intimidated at all to shoot your scenes opposite Sam West in particular, or was the pelican in the Durrells more intimidating the pelican?

Callum And it definitely was more intimidating. Now that I’ve gone through both. Um, I don’t know if I use the word intimidated. I was definitely sort of, you know. Yeah. Maybe a bit nervous. Definitely. You know, I’ve grown up watching Sam West and really enjoying his performances over the years and, yeah, so there was a bit of nerves or whatever sort of in there, but he’s, you know, he’s the loveliest man and he’s so, so interesting and so interested about all the stuff that’s going on around on set and all the sort of what’s the word, you know, all the business that you’re doing and in the scenes and stuff, he’ll get you interested in. And before, you know, you sort of the scene’s become so much more thanks to maybe some of the research he’s done about this one particular sort of thing. And yeah, yeah, it was always so much fun. And I remember there was one there because he was in he was in the Van Helsing film, you know, the Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Van Helsing? He was not even in the very beginning playing Dr. Frankenstein. And honestly, when that film came out, I was fully obsessed with it. And it’s on Netflix. And I remember, like realizing it was him in a scene that we were doing together and he was going, right, you’re not going to watch that tonight. You’re not going to watch it. And I went home and watched it. And I sent a photo of me watching  his scene in it. Yeah. It’s just, it was moments like that where you think, oh, my God. Like, if I would have told my 13 year old me, like, you’re going to be doing a scene with him and then and then texting him a photo of you watching this film, it’s just really weird to think of, you know, actually doing it now.

Jace You touched on this earlier, Tristan’s attitude towards life might be just what straitlaced James needs in order to loosen up a bit. How do you see these two balancing each other out?

Callum Well, I think I think Tristan is going to drag James out with him a lot more. I think he’s going to force a pint of beer in his hand a lot more. And you have to just force him to have fun a lot more. And James is going to keep showing showing Tristan up by his how professional he is and how caring he is with the animals. And it’s going to keep showing interest in that. So it’s going to force him to do something, you know, and that and I think that’s definitely what the series is building towards, you know, him sort of taking charge of it more, you know, career, sort of professional wise.

Jace He does seem to want to put James through his paces while sitting idly by, such as at the Henshaws, where he very happily accepts a slice of fruitcake and maggoty from Sylvie and let James get on with all the hard work of shouting, ‘Kush’ at the cow. Is this just gentle hazing from Tris to the new boy?

Callum Yeah, that’s definitely. And also, I’ve got to said that fruitcake was one of the nicest things I’ve ever eaten and I’m going to be getting a big loaf of that when I go back up next time. It was so good. But, yeah, he’s he’s just he’s just trying to, you know, he’s just trying to annoy him. He’s just trying to get a rise out of him because he finds it funny.

 

Jace Tristan’s introduction in episode two is very nearly upstaged by that of Mrs. Pumphrey’s pampered Pekinese Tricky-Woo, who played with aplomb, I have to say by Derek.

CLIP

James Impacted anal glands. Now that we’ve expressed them he should feel more comfortable.

Mrs. Pumphrey I don’t know why this keeps happening, I only feed him the very best food.

JamesAh well, that could be part of the problem, what exactly is it you’re feeding him?

Mrs. Pumphrey Oh, the usual, chicken, Beef Wellington, plum duff, and he absolutely adores trifle.

Tristan Who doesn’t? Good boy.

Mrs. Pumphrey And cake of course.

Tristan Ah well there you have it. Triple pud always puts my insides in a rum old state.

James Too much rich food in his diet. Not enough fibre.

Tristan Yeah that too. If you wanna get technical about it.

James Brown meat and biscuits. Twice a day. That’s all he should be having.

Jace how much of a diva was Derek to work with? Really? You can be honest,.

Callum Honestly, such a diva. He was he he got he got the best treatment on set. He was carried everywhere. I never I never saw him walking unless it was the scene that he was in. And yeah, he’s like Daniel Day-Lewis on the set of My Left Foot, or something. He just, he wouldn’t he wouldn’t it wouldn’t do a thing for himself until it was until cameras were rolling. But he was he was great, honestly. He was such a funny dog. And the trainers who were in charge of him. Yeah. You know, we just felt in such good hands constantly. And he, I mean, he’s fully the breakout star of the series, Derek. He’s going to I hope, you know, in some way and go back to series two now that we’ve unfortunately lost Dame Diana but yeah, he was an amazing, amazing addition to the cast.

Jace So The Durrells afforded you the opportunity to hone your acting chops, working opposite various species of animals. All Creatures Great and Small uses a mix of real animals and some prosthetics for some of the more invasive vet examinations will say, how would you describe the magic of filmmaking as it relates to the animals, both real and fake on the set?

Callum Yeah, I mean, like similarly to The Durrells, the the animals on set were incredible. They were trained so well by by by the animal trainers that we never had any issues that I remember with every day where we were filming with animals that sort of set a lot of time so that, you know, in case they weren’t doing what we wanted them to do and it was time to take it on in that type of thing. But we always, without a doubt, every single time we filmed with animals finished early and, you know, got to, like, go home early. It was the day. It was the days when it was just as in the kitchen talking to each other that we had to go and, you know, half an hour over and stuff. But, yeah, it was it was absolutely incredible. I remember yeah. There’s a prosthetic that when we’re doing an operation on something where it was filmed with a prosthetic looking down on it, but when it was looking or was doing the operation, the prosthetic broke. So it needed to go and get fixed in the other room. But like, we needed to get the shot. So in the in the in the shot where it’s looking up, it was doing the operation. We’re just looking down at a bag of compost that was handy. We’re not actually looking at anything that even resembles the animal that we were operating on. So I think that’s it’s a good move to. Yeah. As you said, like the magic of the screen. We just looking down about compost. But you never, never, ever know.

Jace Tristan picks up on a certain awkwardness between James and Helen, particularly as she hints that she caught him without his clothes on while swimming. Does Tristan instantly peg James’s romantic feelings towards Helen, particularly given his earlier question if Jim has a girl?

Callum I think Tristan is the only one who immediately picks up on James’ feelings towards Helen, and I think he I think he sniffed out the second we’re on that tractor going to check out Helen’s calf. Yeah, and he yeah, he I think he understands it. I think he understands James’s sort of predicament, but that doesn’t stop him from teasing him at every opportunity that he gets, which is which is definitely something you get to see play out a lot. Iif you know, if there’s an awkward moment between James and Helen there’s sure to be some sort of quip from Tristan that immediately follows it.

Jace Siegfried unexpectedly gives Tristan with a beautiful Austin Seven, but Tristan has lied about passing his veterinarian school exams, a fact that Mrs. Hall very neatly discovers.

CLIP

Mrs. Hall Not enjoying yourself? Talk about it? Ooo, an appeal. Is he out? Or has he survived? Caught. He’s caught out. Aren’t you?

Tristan How did you know?

Mrs. Hall It were in the pockets of your jacket you daft beggar.

Tristan I’m sorry…

Mrs. Hall Why did you lie?

Tristan I didn’t lie, technically speaking.

Mrs. Hall You told him you passed your last exam.

Tristan Which is true. I did pass my last exam. I just omitted the fact that I failed the two that proceeded it.

Mrs. Hall You silly boy. You silly, silly boy.

Tristan I didn’t know he was going to buy me a car.

Mrs. Hall What did you think was going to happen?

Tristan I didn’t.

Mrs. Hall What?

Tristan Think. I just couldn’t bear the thought of failing again.

Mrs. Hall It’s hard, isn’t it love. I’m sorry.

Tristan He’s going to kill me.

Mrs. Hall Don’t be silly. He might maim you.

Jace How would you describe their rather lovely rapport?

Callum Yeah, I mean, I think you potentially said earlier she’s she’s just the mom of the house and she definitely mother’s Tristan. You know, there’s a story like that goes throughout with Mrs. Hall and her real son, which is an incredible story It’s a really beautiful story played amazingly by Anna, but she’s definitely the mother of Skeldale. And she definitely mother’s Tristan and Tristan fully lets you know, I think he loves having her is that sort of role in his life. And yeah, that was one of the first things I ever shot without. And it was it was just yeah, it was from the get go. We were it was a really great relationship and really fun to play those scenes and with with with her.

Jace When Tristan finally does tell Siegfried the truth. The most heartbreaking element is when Siegfried says to Tristan, I was proud of you.

Callum Yeah.

Jace Is this just a dagger to the heart for Tristan and the audience?

Callum Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And I think even though Tristan probably wouldn’t admit it, that’s that’s that’s all he wants from Siegfried, even though he wants to make him proud, like, you know, like like like how he would have tried to make his dad proud. So, yeah, those words definitely. Definitely we’re interested again, you know, he doesn’t let it show, but that’s probably one of the worst things that. Yeah. To see if we could say interest in. And I think throughout the series, he definitely tries to work work at that and and make him proud.

Jace It’s when a parent says to you, I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.

Callum Yeah, so the child was the silent treatment is always so much worse then shouting at you, isn’t it?

Jace It’s rare to fall in love with a new character in a single episode, but this episode does such a fantastic job of introducing Tristes that it’s impossible not to root for him by the end. Is that, do you think, down to Ben Vanstone’s script or to your performance?

Callum Yeah, I mean, I’d like to think is a is a bit of both. I’d like to think that, you know, I have managed to bring something to Tristan, but really, Ben is the mastermind. He’s absolutely incredible. He’s a true wordsmith. And he just knows those characters so well. Every every time we got these new episodes, there was just that feeling of I can’t wait to see what Ben has written for us this week. And we were never we were never disappointed. Basically, he was he always came through. We just had awesome stuff for us to do that we got to have a lot of fun doing, which. Yeah, I think I think the combination of his incredible writing and I was just loving and having so much fun doing it is maybe why it’s worked out so well.

Jace By the end of the episode, James and Tristan find common ground.

CLIP

Tristan Well I certainly won’t forget my first car in a hurry.

James He’ll forgive you eventually.

Tristan Yes, I’m sure he will. Then I have no doubt he’ll find something else to be cross with me about.

James I’m sure that goes for me too.

Tristan The only way we’ll survive, my brother, is if we stick together.

Jace Is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

Callum Is it really is. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they’ve got such an amazing bromance that I hope people, you know, hope people go with it and enjoy it and, you know, accept these as two as the two new bromance buddies of TV. While we were while we were shooting this show was airing on Channel four back in September of last year. And it’s Christopher Timothee, the original James Herriot, and Peter Davison, the original Tristan Farnon. And they just drive around England in these old cars. And it’s just them two, just mates, just driving around places. And I remember I said to Nick, you know, like, that’s that’s the goal here. But we don’t want to get to Hollywood with this. We want to get to a point where people just make a show about us two being mates, driving around. So hopefully that’s that’s what will come of it.

Jace What can you tease about what’s coming up this season on All Creatures Great and Small?

Callum Um, oh God. I mean it’s just more, it’s just more Kales. You know, lots of animals we get we. Yes. Tristan starts to get really stuck in a lot more than he does in an episode two, a lot more teasing of James, a lot more annoying of Siegfried and yeah, just more of the same until it all builds a into a lovely sort of crescendo. I think. I think, you know, our final episode, episode six, it’s one of the best episodes of television I’ve ever made. I’m so proud of it and so proud of the whole team. And I hope people enjoy it as much as, you know, what we did.

Jace Callum Woodhouse thank you so very much.

Callum Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.

Jace Two episodes into the season, we’ve danced around the character of Siegfried Farnon enough — but there’s just something… off about him, isn’t there?

CLIP

Siegfried I mean, don’t get me wrong – I take great satisfaction in looking after our usual clientele of cart horses and gymkhana ponies. But to spend a day with those magnificent beasts, bred to perfection. And the General was impressed. He had me down as an also-ran. Now he knows I’m a thoroughbred.

Jace We’ll hear from Samuel West himself about what makes Siegfried Farnon tick — and what ticks him off — next on the podcast, January 24.

MASTERPIECE Studio is hosted by me, Jace Lacob, and produced by Nick Andersen. Elisehba Ittoop is our editor. The executive producer of MASTERPIECE is Susanne Simpson.