Anna Madeley on All Creatures Great and Small Season 5: MASTERPIECE Studio – PBS
Official SiteReleased February 23, 2025February 21, 2025 33:45WARNING: This episode contains spoilers for All Creatures Great and Small Season 5.Actor Anna Madeley’s endearing Audrey Hall takes pride in what she does, from keeping Skeldale House running smoothly, to volunteering as a blackout warden for Darrowby, helping to keep the town safe during the war. Anna discusses how her character managed to balance hope and despair in her spellbinding performance in this season of All Creatures Great and Small’s Christmas special. Download and subscribe on: iTunes | Spotify| RadioPublicThis script has been lightly edited for clarity. Jace Lacob: I’m Jace Lacob and you’re listening to MASTERPIECE Studio.When it comes to duty, for both king and country and country life, Audrey Hall has always been one to do her part. Before she was responsible for keeping Skeldale House running smoothly, she was part of the Wrens in the first World War, and is now supporting the war effort on the home front as a member of the WI. But knitting socks for soldiers has left Audrey feeling less essential in this war. She needs to be doing something more. CLIPAudrey Hall: Mr. Bosworth, might I have a word?Mr. Bosworth: Of course, Mrs. Hall. Though if it’s Women’s Institute business, you should really speak to Mrs. Pumphrey.Audrey Hall: Well, it’s not. I wish to volunteer to be a blackout warden. Over the course of Season Five, Audrey balances her responsibilities as a blackout warden with her responsibility to Skeldale House. With Tristan back and James’ parents visiting, a full house means more work for Audrey. War rations present an even bigger challenge in the kitchen, yet somehow, Audrey manages to secure a goose for the annual Christmas dinner. This season, Audrey finds herself pulled in multiple directions out of duty but also worry. Her son Edward, a member of the Royal Navy, is away at sea on board the HMS Repulse. Audrey’s concern intensifies when she learns that her son’s ship has been sunk. CLIPHelen: Sshh! Something’s happened.News Reporter: The HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse have been sunk whilst carrying out operations against the Japanese attack on Malaya. Official communique issued by the Japanese claim that both were sunk by air attack at around 5 o’clock this morning, Greenwich Mean Time. Audrey checks the newspaper daily for the list of casualties from the HMS Repulse, but doesn’t see her son’s name. With Edward’s fate still unknown, Audrey must balance her despair and hope, seeking comfort in keeping busy. CLIPAudrey: Alright then. Better get the tea done.Helen: Oh, I can do that.Audrey: I’ve already the potatoes to do.Tristan: Still, if there’s anything we can do to help. Today, we talk with actor Anna Madeley about her spellbinding performance in this season’s Christmas special of All Creatures Great and Small. Jace Lacob: And this week we are joined by All Creatures Great and Small star Anna Madeley. Welcome.Anna Madeley: Thank you. Lovely to speak to you again. Thanks for having me.Jace Lacob: Thanks for coming back. Series Five pushes us deeper into the reality of the war as knitting and gardening have taken on new significance, even acts of collective defiance against German invaders. Mrs. Hall is no stranger to the war effort, having served in the Wrens during the First World War, and she volunteers as a blackout warden for Darrowby in Series 5. How does Audrey feel about doing her bit once again for Britain?Anna Madeley: I think it’s so important to her. I think she’s got itchy feet to do it, and she’s always been someone who’s joined in. And I think it was such a defining moment in her youth to join the Wrens. I think she’d learned so much, met some great people, had skills that saw her through but I just think she’s also community minded in that way. To sort of sit by and not be doing things when she knows she has time to, I think, eats away at her. So, she’s the kind of person who will think, well, what can I do? How can I get involved? And as we see, she does plenty of knitting, but that’s not quite cutting it. She wants to get further involved and do something more.And I think also having lived through a war and knowing how important it is to do those things to help with the war effort, not just for the wider community, but also for yourself. To know you’re contributing something I think is probably also, it’s a way of coping. To know you’re doing something positive to help is a great way of also coping with the fact that your child is out fighting on behalf of the country. Edward’s gone and Tris is, and James is. That’s a very hard thing to sit at home and not feel like you are doing so much when you know their lives are on the line.Jace Lacob: And like in the First World War, women are once again filling roles traditionally held by men, whether that’s the land girls or night wardens. And I love that All Creatures shows us how domestic duties can even become political acts. Is there a sense here, even in the Dales, that women’s lives are changing, that there are new possibilities, even in the face of war?Anna Madeley: I think so, yeah. It’s an interesting time, and I suppose we’re able to look back on it knowing what happens next. But I think it’s a really interesting point because we deal with multiple generations, and they all do different things. You see Mrs. Pumphrey having to give up her home. You see Mrs. Hall juggling the domestic world, Carmody trying to make scrambled eggs, all those sort of fun things. And then you also have the younger generation, you have Jenny talking about wanting to go off to Leeds. She’s met this land girl Doris, who’s been telling her about the big city and what’s available to her there.I think that’s one of the things I find really interesting with Mrs. Hall, is that she thinks she’s had a taste of that world. I think she’s a woman who really wanted to have a family and bring up children and so she loves that role, that nurturing role in the household. But I think she is also aware that there’s a world out there of all those other things and so doesn’t limit herself. She likes to try something new and go off and do something. So I think when she comes up against Bosworth and it makes no sense, it is quite a sort of lovely argument that she’s able to have with him.Jace Lacob: And I love that moment so much. CLIPAudrey: Mr. Bosworth, I’ll have you know I were a female when I joined the Wrens in the last war, and when I learned to fire a rifle and operate a wireless telegraph.Mr. Bosworth: I suppose you would’ve been, yes—Audrey: And I were most certainly a female when I were on the crew of a harbour launch assigned to mine spotting duties, many of which, as I recall, took place at night.Mr. Bosworth: I see, but the thing—Audrey: So, I feel fairly confident I can manage to ride a bicycle around Darrowby and tell people to close their curtains. Don’t you? Jace Lacob: Is this Audrey, in this moment, at her very best?Anna Madeley: I think so, yeah. And I think her most sort of excited at what she could contribute and what she can do. I think that’s what’s quite sad when he pops the balloon on that idea. It’s a great idea. She can go out and do all these things. She’d be a great warden. I love that Mrs. Pumphrey comes in and joins the conversation and I suppose in a way sort of resolves the argument for them in a rather brilliant way, in a way only Mrs. Pumphrey can.Yeah, I think you do get a little flavor of the young woman that went out there and enjoyed learning all those new skills and feeling quite powerful doing them, and able. It’s wonderful to feel able, to feel that you have skills that you can offer and be helpful with. I think that’s a great feeling.Jace Lacob: Siegfried supports her decision. CLIPSiegfried: I think it’s marvelous.Audrey: You do?Siegfried: Absolutely. Good for you, Mrs. Hall. And I quite agree, we must all try to play our part. Jace Lacob: It feels somewhat out of character for the routine-loving Siegfried. What does she make of Siegfried’s largesse here?Anna Madeley: It’s an interesting one, this, because, she’s hired to do a job, he pays her to do a job, and it’s one of those moments in the story where, even though they’ve got this friendship that has been growing throughout, she is a paid employee in the household. And so it’s asking him to allow her to juggle with that and play with time and mess up their routine slightly. And I think she’s aware that she’s the person who does bring that order to the household. Mr. Farnon isn’t an orderly person, he’s quite chaotic. Things make sense in his head, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to other people. And so I think she knows how important that is.So it is quite a big ask in a way, but also wonderful. This is where he is a wonderful friend, that he’ll see that she wants to do something that’s good for the war effort, good for the community, and I think he’s likewise slightly excited for her. So, there’s that wonderful layer that comes through there. And then I think it’s very funny that he then struggles with it a bit, struggles with Bosworth being around, telling Mrs. Hall what to do. He gets a little territorial, and that’s quite another funny layer to it. So, I love that, the complexity that they brought to that in their relationship. I think it’s always multi-layered like that and makes it a lot of fun to play.Jace Lacob: He does end up exploding at Mr. Bosworth, CLIPSiegfried: Lead paint is not safe for cows.Mr. Bosworth: In the blackout, cows aren’t safe for people! Road collisions are on the increase in our sector.Siegfried: Lead paint is not safe for cows!Audrey: Mr. Farnon, please—Mr. Bosworth: My primary concern is the welfare of this community.Siegfried: Then may I suggest you return to them and stop monopolizing my housekeeper. Jace Lacob: And it is this sort of rupturing that Siegfried has been trying to contain all of this, and trying to contain the lack of order, even as he’s been so supportive of Audrey. But it does lead to this tête-à-tête between Siegfried and Audrey, and Audrey says, CLIPAudrey: If you think this job means I’m neglecting my duties, then I’d rather you just tell me straight, in private.Siegfried: I don’t.Audrey: I take a great pride in what I do here.Siegfried: That’s not in any doubt. I was criticizing Bosworth, his lack of regard for your time.Audrey: I’ve only had two training sessions.Siegfried: Feels like more.Audrey: And if he’s at fault, it’s my business.Siegfried: Understood. Jace Lacob: And she clearly is juggling her duties as housekeeper with her volunteering, with the war effort, with everything. How deeply has Siegfried wounded her? Does she feel really hurt in that moment that she wouldn’t take pride in all of this?Anna Madeley: I think she’s partly surprised. It’s a strange position to suddenly find yourself in where you have almost two bosses who are having a bit of a row about what you should and shouldn’t be doing. And so I think she feels she needs to take control of that situation again and draw clear lines between those relationships.I think she does need to assert herself there, and I think also feel that while it probably, I don’t know, it’s complicated again because I think Mr. Farnon oftentimes is trying to protect her and look after her, and Bosworth is demanding in his own sweet way. So she can see how they see each other, but then working out how to not have people try and take control of her existence. Mr. Farnon isn’t her husband. He’s her boss in that job and he has said it’s okay. I think it’s one of those that they’ll rub along and they come through the other side of it because she can be quite clear with him. I think that is one of the strengths in their friendship is that they can have these moments and they are able to come out the other side of them. And that’s where their affection is able to grow as well. So it’s rather lovely.Jace Lacob: There is this sense of found family at Skeldale House. And unexpectedly, Tristan returns from the war in Episode Three. And at first, Mrs. Hall and Siegfried think he must be injured, but he’s fine. And they say specifically, this is what it’s all about, the family back together. There is that notion of found family here. Despite her worry for Edward, how thrilled is Mrs. Hall by Tris’s return?Anna Madeley: I mean, you could almost say he’s her other son. She adores him. And she also knows what he means to Siegfried. So to have him get back home and be well, I mean, it’s the ultimate gift, isn’t it? I don’t think she could be happier. It’s so frightening the idea of your loved ones being out at war, and so to have him back home and know what that means to Mr. Farnon. And I think she really loves him as, what would you say, surrogate son, a son figure. I think that is how she feels about him. And so getting him back home is like having a family member come home. You know, you’d always rather they were there raiding the cupboard and leaving their stuff around the house than not. Yeah, I think it’s absolutely joyful.Jace Lacob: Like with Series Three’s “Edward”, Episode Seven is an installment that rests largely on your shoulders, as Audrey provides the entire emotional spine of the episode. Were you surprised that this year’s Christmas special would focus so squarely on Audrey Hall?Anna Madeley: Yes, I was. I felt very privileged to be trusted with that storyline, it was amazing. It’s a huge rollercoaster, emotionally, that episode. So it was both a lot of fun to film, it was also an episode where every day was pretty emotionally exhausting, but I loved every minute of it. Andy Hay directed it beautifully.And also because we’ve all been working together for a long time now, it’s one of those moments where you really feel the strength of those relationships with each other. Like how you can trust each other as actors. You can get into that sort of work very quickly because you have that shorthand with one another.Because we don’t have long to shoot on anything. You have to make decisions and be brave and get on with it. Well, how do we shoot like 11 days to an episode or something? So, you know, we’re fast. So I felt very supported by the group as well, that we had fantastic writing, but also working with a group of people that we all knew each other really well. And I felt very supported by that. It was a really good experience.Jace Lacob: So, this episode moves from the domestic, Audrey sourcing a goose for Christmas dinner, to the existential. And it’s a wartime episode, the war feels especially close, and it is also a sort of thematic bookend with Series Three’s episode “Edward”. We have numerous flashbacks to that episode, and this episode further plays with Audrey’s unresolved issues with her son. And for your prep for “Edward”, you told me you approached your performance with a, “… careful calibration of the hope versus the cold reality of what it’s been like in the past.”, between the two of them. Did you look to build upon that, upon the dynamic that you built with Connor filming “Edward”, that sense of hope versus the learned experience that Audrey has, that the reality of her relationship with her son has been very different than what she expected?Anna Madeley: I think it’s part of it, the journey, and I think it’s part of why that storyline in that episode felt so poignant is because it’s been a hard won relationship. We’ve learned that they had this terrible falling out, that there’s been an estrangement, which is a very hard thing to come back from, and they’ve managed to do that, which is extraordinary. And we know that she’s always been hopeful. We know that from very early on, where she’s still hopeful that things might work out, that it might be okay. And having to come to terms with, you know, she can’t control all of that. Edward has to want to have a relationship with her as much as she wants to have one with him.And I think because that’s been so hard won, and we know now that they write to each other and that they are developing a closer relationship, it’s hard having a relationship at a distance like that. So I think it is still delicate. It is a relationship that still is very loving but is also fragile and she can’t give him the hugs she’d like to be giving him and she hasn’t been able to be his mum in the way she probably wanted to.The idea that having made those huge steps forward, that she might get cut off from him is terrible. I think it’s sort of unthinkable. I think that’s part of the pain in this episode. And I think that’s why she retreats, is because I think the idea of engaging with other people is just too hard. It’s a lonely journey to find a place in your head to get used to the idea that you might have to face that cold reality, that he might not be coming back. I think it’s just too hard to exist in the world as she normally does and face that. MIDROLL Jace Lacob: It initially falls to Siegfried to tell Audrey that Edward’s ship has been sunk. Audrey’s immediate reaction is restrained. She certainly doesn’t faint. She doesn’t even flinch. CLIPAudrey: Mr. Farnon, a rather unusual patient arrived. I told him to wait by the front, where is he? What’s wrong?Siegfried: I’m afraid there’s some bad news. The Repulse came under enemy attack. She’s gone down off the coast of Malaya.Audrey: I see. What about survivors?James: They don’t know how many yet, but they should know more by the morning.Audrey: What did they say exactly?Siegfried: Only that the Prince of Wales and the Repulse had been sunk apparently by Japanese aerial attack, and they were awaiting further report.Audrey: Well, there’s no use worrying until there’s more information. Jace Lacob: That calmness. Did you see that as sort of denial or numbness with Audrey just operating on autopilot? How did you read that moment?Anna Madeley: I read it as a kind of blind panic. I remember feeling a sort of flinch of anger in the playing of it and a desire for everybody to get out of the kitchen, please. That was the initial feeling I had with it. Being in a room with four people staring at you while you receive horrendous news, that was my sort of instinctive response was, A, she wants information. Because not having information means you don’t know how fully to react to something.She’s not going to suddenly burst into tears at the prospect without really knowing because she doesn’t want to. Unless you’re absolutely sure, immediately, I think in a way, she grabs on to the idea of hope. Until someone can definitively say to her, this is what’s happened, I think that’s possibly where the anger comes from, is the idea has had to be presented to her that this might have happened, but they can’t give her an answer.Jace Lacob: It is an incredible moment, I think, because you see in that a host of emotions flip over your face in the very second after she gets the news. And it’s even hard to parse what those emotions are. You seem to have, I think, ten, in a split second, it’s extraordinary. But the only physicality that you have is you put your hand on the chair to steady yourself. And Callum, as Tristan comes, he puts his hand on your shoulder and you pat it gently and move away. And you really do feel like the kindness of others here is bruising. It’s too much. It’s friction instead of comfort.Anna Madeley: Yeah, I think that was one of the layers of the journey when we were plotting through it, thinking that there’s that moment where they all get sent off to do jobs, errands, and gives her moments of peace. You have the scene where Helen tries to get through to her, and I felt like that was the door shutting on the possibility of talking to Mrs Hall about it. So they just have to let her work through it.Some people would take comfort in other people and be, you know, need to cry on the sofa and need to be held, and I think my instinct playing those scenes was that Mrs. Hall doesn’t want that because that might suggest that he’s died. And she doesn’t want to have to accept that. So I think carrying on is the act of hope. It’s hard to do. It’s like the idea of people comforting you is sort of horrendous, even though it’s kindly meant.Jace Lacob: Audrey had previously met Christopher, who has snails and all sorts of other pets during her brief foray into the black market. And she discovers that Christopher has left a fox on their front doorsteps before everything sort of goes off kilter. But there is this brief moment of connection between Audrey and the fox in its crate as Siegfried and Christopher come through the kitchen taking the fox back to where he belongs.She does transfer, I think, a lot of maternal love but also fear for Edward onto that wild fox. And she develops this beautiful bond with this wild animal that then takes her by surprise, I feel. What did you make of that connection, that juxtaposition between her not wanting to think about what’s happened to Edward and her fear for her son with caring for and then worrying about this other creature?Anna Madeley: Yeah, it’s a strong theme. And there’s that scene in there with Mr. Farnon where he’s talking about, well, the kindest thing to do is to put the fox down. And seeing the fact that some people have power over life and death, and I think for Mrs. Hall no one should really have power over someone else’s life or death, and I think it comes out in an unfortunate way with Mr. Farnon that a creature that could be looked after and nurtured and saved, the idea that you would give up in any way is too much for her at that point. I think in another moment, of course, she accepts what Mr. Farnon does. She works at the vet practice. She knows he makes decisions with the animals’ welfare utmost in his mind. But for that day, it’s too much for her.And I think also the fox gives her a wonderful gift. Turning up, running away, disappearing into their back sheds where they keep the animals, giving her someone to look after and he introduces her to a quiet space where she can go and sit and have a think and clear her head for a minute, be away from all the busyness somewhere sort of weirdly comforting. It’s a dusty old shed, but it’s an escape from the world.And there’s something appealing, I think, about the idea of this fox isn’t affected by all these things. This fox is just wanting to get on with its life and go and run around fields and live its life and do its thing. So I think it’s an escapism that the fox gives her, as well as someone to look after or some creature to look after. It’s an interesting bond. The fact that then Mr. Farnon does save the fox is a gorgeous end to that journey of saying, yes, right now we need more care, we need to try harder, we need to go beyond what we thought we could do and make that extra effort to make things better for people.Jace Lacob: I love the details within this episode. For her trip to Skipton to see Paddy, she takes the same biscuit tin she tried to give Edward in Series Three. What do you make of that detail, given how emotionally loaded that biscuit tin was the last time she used it?Anna Madeley: And still dented. It’s lovely. I mean, it’s one of the joys of doing an ongoing series is you get to build up those layers and know that audiences who have watched it and seen that will understand the significance of that tin and what it means and that it isn’t just about some biscuits or the fact that she’s used up precious war ration to make them. It’s an act of love. It’s a desire to connect and communicate. Yeah, it’s a reaching out, and in this instance to another young lad who’s been through something awful, who she hopes can help her.We have a wonderful huge props room at the back of our studio now that’s full of all sorts of things. And so certain items in there now are becoming extremely precious. You know that they need to come back. They need to be a part of that world. You can’t just use any old, well, in this instance, any old biscuit tin wouldn’t have told quite the same story. That is one of the joys of making a long show. And it was a lot of fun riding the bus up and down the hill in Skipton. It was very steep, it was quite hard for the bus driver.Jace Lacob: Though, it’s when Paddy puts Edward in the past tense, “He was a good man”, that Audrey finally painfully breaks, and there is that shot of you crying as you walk down the street, which destroys me every single time I watch this episode. There’s no dialogue, it’s just you staggering as you stare into the middle ground, looking absolutely forlorn as life seemingly continues around Audrey. What was Andy Hay’s direction to you in that shot?Anna Madeley: It was a funny day actually, because we were shooting the, as I say, it was a very steep hill in Skipton. And it was quite funny because there were quite a few residents watching from the windows on the sides. And yeah, Andy decided to have somebody doing up their windowsill and some people are out having a chat and it’s a normal day. And I think the contrast between an extraordinary day in Mrs. Hall’s life and just normal life going on around her and how disorienting that is when you’re going through something. I found that really kind of useful.So we filmed me arriving on the bus and going up the hill. And disappearing around the corner. And then later in the day, we were just filming me coming back around that corner as though having had the meeting with Paddy. And I think because we knew what the Paddy meeting was, and the emotional journey that took, it was quite clear where she would be.So, Andy sort of just left me, he went, do what feels right to you in terms of where she’s at, what that does to her. Because she’s not at home, she’s in Skipton. She’s not in Darrowby Square. People might be friendly, but they don’t know her in the same way, or never at all. So she’s suddenly in a strange place, in a strange island of her own emotion in the midst of normal life. I found the emotional journey through the episode so strong in the script that before coming back down the hill, I just played out that scene in my mind of how that would hit. Because she can’t stay with Paddy in that room, she has to go. She’s not going to sit in Paddy’s front room and cry and be comforted by him. And also she’s just asked an enormous amount of this young man to tell her the truth, and he’s very kindly done that.So yeah, it’s just one of those where you just, and, you know, you just roll with what, what the story is and how it hits you and, or how it hits Mrs. Hall. And the freedom also to be overwhelmed by an emotion. I don’t know if she’d been walking across, well, I think probably it would have been the same walking across Darrowby Square actually in this instance, but I think it adds to her bewilderment, suddenly everything seemed like a strange place. And again, it was one of those days where you don’t get many times to shoot it. So you do have to go with your gut, go with what comes and feels truthful.Jace Lacob: The fox survives the night. Mrs. Hall gets a telephone call, it’s Edward, and she collapses on the stairs out of relief and joy, it’s a Christmas miracle. Telephone calls are tricky scenes to film at the best of times, but much less with so many coalescing emotions. I have to ask, who was reading Edward’s lines on the other end of the call when you filmed it, or was it entirely silent?Anna Madeley: Oh, they asked Connor. He wasn’t there live, but they had Connor’s voice, which was so useful because he was a presence. He’s a presence we all know, we’ve got a sense of him. And again, I had so many resources at my disposal in terms of, you know, fellow actors and directors who know you and know how you work, I suppose. And also you just have a bit of a leap of faith on those days. You have to throw yourself into the moment. And I think that’s why it’s so exhausting, because I always feel a bit like you just block the world out when you have to do scenes like that. You just have to be present in the moment, and go for it, feel it, and do it.Jace Lacob: I love the shot of everyone on the stairs around Audrey as Jess wanders over wanting her breakfast. And to me, it’s the epitome of All Creatures Great and Small, the love and comfort of the found family, the devotion of animals, the warmth of Skeldale house. What was it like shooting the tail end of the scene with Nick, Sam, Rachel and Callum?Anna Madeley: It was lovely. It was a weird old day because it was exhausting. And also it’s a funny thing when you’ve got scenes like that because everyone’s concentration for the day is different because you’re there playing a scene where you’re going through this huge emotional rollercoaster. Someone else is playing a scene where I’ve just got up for breakfast and something’s gone on downstairs. What’s going on? Jess the dog is playing a scene of why hasn’t anyone given me breakfast? You’re all in very different places. And so as actors on set, you’re in very different places, you know, we’re all concentrating, but in the energy that we need to be in to play our story in that scene.And so it was very lovely actually that we had to do it a few times so it was very hard. You know, you’ve got to hold the concentration through that but it was also wonderful to have that resolution at the end of the story to be able to have the hug that she needed, to be able to have a dog break the moment with something just so normal, like I haven’t been fed yet. It just lightened it. Tris making a silly joke that she doesn’t immediately get, but then comes on to it. I think it sort of brings her back to the world a bit. And I felt like as an actor, it sort of allowed me to be able to complete that story as well.It was lovely to get out of the depths of that darkness and end on a God, yeah, let’s have a drink. And re-engage with everybody. You’ve seen her through the episode, not be able to engage with them anymore, to slowly shut them out. They don’t quite know what’s gone… they don’t know that she’s gone on this journey to see Paddy. None of that’s part of the story for them at that point. They might learn about it later. So it’s a sort of wonderful resolution where they actually come back together. Mrs. Hall comes back to them, they’re allowed in again, and they can start to recover and they can start to help her again. Yeah, it’s a really lovely moment. And it’s always lovely to get a cuddle of Rachel. So yeah.Jace Lacob: The episode ends with a final shot of Audrey gazing at her surrogate family and then seeing the snow falling outside the window. And it’s as if everything is right again within Skeldale house. Looking back at five series and five Christmas specials, what has been your favorite All Creatures Great and Small Christmas memory or, to ask it another way, what Christmas special moment either on or off screen will you cherish forever?Anna Madeley: What immediately comes to mind is the wonderful Callum Woodhouse doing a Zoolander impression between the trailers in his elf costume. That was a delightful moment in our lives. They’re so much fun, the Christmas specials. I mean, Tony Pitts as Santa, Father Christmas, Sam as Father Christmas, I mean, the whole, all of them. I loved watching the work Duncan Preston did and Callum in that storyline about the pigeons, which I thought was absolutely gorgeous and such a beautiful counterbalance to the sadness of Audrey’s story.There’s always something lovely at the end of feeling that resolution of that sense of coming back together of, they are a strong unit together. And we are very blessed as a cast and crew to be a strong unit. And so there’s just something very lovely about that. It’s special. You don’t get that on every job. That’s always delightful.Jace Lacob: Anna Madeley, thank you so very much.Anna Madeley: Thank you. It’s been great to talk to you again.Next time, we’re transported back to 16th century England during the reign of King Henry VIII. CLIPThomas Cromwell: The king’s married again.Cardinal Wolsey: Good. Marriages work better than wars. Hm? Tune in Sunday, March 23, as we sit down with historian, author, curator, and television presenter Lucy Worsley to discuss King Henry’s reign, and how his eldest child, Mary Tudor, earned the nickname “Bloody Mary”.Sign up to get the latest news on your favorite dramas and mysteries, as well as exclusive content, video, sweepstakes and more.Find out about new shows, get updates on your favorite dramas and mysteries, enjoy exclusive content and more!Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking and Raymond James, with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The Masterpiece Trust, created to help ensure the series’ future.Terms of Use: PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
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