4 Antique Cars From 'All Creatures Great And Small' That Shine On Screen

PBS' "All Creatures Great and Small" is a reboot of a 1978 series about a veterinarian working in Yorkshire, England, in the 1930s. While the focus is on heartwarming interactions with patients and a charming cast of characters, it's hard not to notice all of the attention to detail on set that brings the time period to life — especially the antique cars. The period-accurate cars often appear on screen for fleeting moments but still manage to steal the spotlight.

Some of these cars were purchased and driven by main characters in the show, while others were just given a moment on screen in a single episode. Even still, these cars captured the time period perfectly and fascinated viewers that wanted to learn more about the antique cars that graced the screen in various capacities. There are plenty of eye-catching cars on the set of "All Creatures Great and Small," whether driven by the main characters, or shown in the background of a busy street. Here are some that car enthusiasts couldn't ignore.

The Rover car brand introduced the Rover 12 in 1905, and it was produced until 1948, going through a lot of drastic changes during this time. The one that appeared in "All Creatures Great and Small" was a 1935 model, which had a four-cylinder 1308cc engine that produced just 53 horsepower. Running the plates spotted in some scenes through the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's Vehicle Enquiry Service has confirmed it to be the Rover 12, said to have a top speed of 70 miles per hour — at least that's what Rover said in its advertisements around that time. This would make it fall behind the slowest iconic cars found in other TV shows. 

The Rover has made an appearance in every season, driving through towns and countrysides. Fans of the show even recall a deleted scene where the Rover was fitted with a four-wheel drive system for rally crossing and driving around farmland. 

The Morris Cowley Bullnose first appeared in 1915, and was known for its prominent bull-like grille. By the 1920s, it had become one of the most popular cars in the UK , and the Flatnose, featuring a more understated grille, came onto the scene in 1926. It makes sense to see one pop up in "All Creatures Great and Small" eventually — and the Morris Cowley in the show was actually owned by Tristan. In one scene early in the series, Tristan (loudly) pulls up in his Cowley and lets out a classic "ahooga" honk, declaring he purchased the vehicle with his "meager wages" as part of his character's continued growth — despite being known as a bit of a troublemaker. 

In the show, Tristan calls the car "solid as a tractor" and "a beauty," but the other characters are a bit skeptical of the loud and clunky vehicle, passing on taking a ride in the car. Tristan is proud of the car, however, using it to do home visits around town. In real life, it was a different story – Actor Callum Woodhouse, who plays Tristan Farnon on the show, admitted that the Morris Cowley was incredibly tough to drive. He told PBS that the car could only be stopped by pulling back a handbrake "roughly around a minute" before he wanted the car to stop.

Actor Nicholas Ralph plays relatively new veterinarian James Herriot who's hoping to fit in with the vet crew in Yorkshire. By running the license plate spotted in some scenes through the U.K.'s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's Vehicle Enquiry Service, we learn that James drives a 1933 Vauxhall with a 1701cc engine — which means it can only be the Light Six. 

Woodhouse called the model used on the show "battered-up" and "old" in his PBS interview. He admitted that the car was pretty tough to drive compared to other cars on set. A sharp-eyed fan noticed that the car was having issues in Season 3 Episode 4, including a cloud of smoke coming out the back — but the car reappeared in Episode 6. 

This model Vauxhall was a success with drivers of the time, reaching 26,000 sales in a year. This is probably because this model was cheaper than its competitors when it was released. It featured a 1.8-liter six-cylinder engine that produced 34 horsepower. 

Seen driving through the town or parked on the side of rural roads in the show, this Morris car was always the instant standout of any scene it was in. The DVLA identified the license plate as belonging to a 1939 Morris in the DVLA with a displacement of 885 cc — meaning this vehicle is more than likely the Morris Eight model. 

Morris Motors released the Eight in 1935 to compete with the Ford Model Y launched a few years earlier — its engine was even a "direct copy," according to the National Motor Museum. The Eight quickly became the brand's best-selling car model in the UK throughout the '30s — seen as a cost effective option after World War II. The Series E came out in 1938, one of the later versions of this successful vehicle. The Eight that appears in "All Creatures Great and Small" is a four-door, although a two-door was also available at the time.