Season 6 of All Creatures Great and Small proved to be particularly challenging for Tristan, who was evidently not himself after returning from the front line.
Despite his efforts to settle back into the rhythms of everyday life, it quickly became clear that he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – a term that wasn’t officially recognised until much later, but all the signs were there.
Yet, Tristan had no interest in vocalising his emotions – that is until the finale, when the horrors that he’d witnessed were laid bare.
During a heartfelt conversation with Siegfried, in which he broke down in his brother’s arms, he recalled an especially harrowing incident which claimed the life of his close friend Billy, whose screams alerted Tristan to the landmine that would also have taken his own life if not for his comrade in arms.
“I got a medal because I managed to save a few chaps, but Billy wasn’t one of them,” he said. “He saved me, but I couldn’t save him. The Cross should be his, not mine.”
But there was a light shining in the darkness: one Charlotte Beauvoir. After he was called out to examine one of her horses, they soon began dating and before long, were head over heels for one another – culminating in the pair confessing their love in the Christmas special.
“I think she’s come into his life at a time when he just really, really needs her,” Calum Woodhouse previously told Radio Times when asked why they work so well – and what makes Charlotte different to every other woman he’s been involved with.
“I think they’ve got a great chemistry and they get on really well. And that would have been similar at any point, but Tristan, right now, needs someone who is sympathetic and understanding to what he’s been through, and is very much still going through. And Charlotte is just that, in spades.
“Not only has she been through some of it herself [given her own service], but she’s just a very kind character who allows Tristan to, in his own time, and in his own way, find his way back.”
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At the time, Woodhouse also said that wedding bells could be on the cards.
“I think so,” he nodded. “I think they’re a really great pair.”
But in a recent interview with Radio Times while promoting 5 drama The Fortune, he teased that all might not be well in season 7, which was announced alongside season 8 in November last year.
“It’s not really a massive spoiler to say I’m still with Charlotte Beauvoir, who is really good for him and helps him with his mental health,” he said.
“She keeps him happy and… I think he’s a little bit more content. But there’s only so long that that can last. So, things may be coming to change, but we don’t know.”
Woodhouse didn’t go into any detail about what could drive the couple apart before quickly changing the subject.
“There’s lots of animals!” he added.
So, while there will be sheep aplenty in season 7, those wedding bells may be a long way off yet – perhaps indefinitely so…
All Creatures Great and Small will return on 5 later this year.
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