Peter Wright has returned to screens for a 23rd series of The Yorkshire Vet on Channel 5. The documentary follows vets as they care for animals across Yorkshire. The series began earlier this month with a special episode in which Peter unveiled a memorial garden dedicated to pets that have died over the years.
Passion project sparks memorial garden
The project began when Peter travelled to Sussex to visit the country's first animal chaplain, who introduced him to her church's pet memorial garden. This inspired him to create his own memorial garden in Yorkshire. He chose to establish it at the World of James Herriot in Thirsk, housed within the former home and veterinary surgery of Alf Wight, which immerses visitors in the 1940s world of All Creatures Great and Small, reports Yorkshire Live.
Peter launched his veterinary career at Skeldale Veterinary Centre in Thirsk, working alongside Alf Wight, who was a partner. He has since left the practice after more than 40 years of service.
Reflecting on Alf Wight's memory
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Express, Peter reflected on the full circle moment of opening the memorial garden at the World of James Herriot, the real-life location that inspired Skeldale House. He said: "It's an area of the garden where Alf Wight would have parked his car down the rear of the practice."
"And he'd walk up there on that very grass where the memorial is, with his dogs, on his way to work. So, it brought back memories for me really, I suppose. Yes, it did, as to how it used to be."
On what Alf would have thought of the memorial garden, Peter continued: "He was a massive dog lover. He loved his dogs. And I suppose it went back to a time, a period, you know, going back to growing up in Glasgow in the 1930s. He was very pet orientated then, and he used to go out camping on the hills, outside Glasgow, and he used to take his red setter Don with him."
"So, throughout his life, he's always been a huge dog and cat lover. And I think he would approve of what we've done wholeheartedly, knowing how he felt about his own animals."
Garden offers quiet space for memories
Peter added: "We have some plaques on the wall, and there's the statue of James Herriot, Alf Wight, there. People can just go and sit quietly in an area of the garden that is relatively isolated, and they can just go and sit there with their memories, and I think that's very important."
The Yorkshire Vet returns to screens tonight (Thursday, August 27) for another episode at 8pm on Channel 5. The synopsis for the latest instalment reads: "Julian Norton performs one of his most challenging and delicate operations ever on Milo, a young girl's hamster. Matt Smith has an unusual job too - TB testing a couple of badger cubs. Peter Wright rushes to an emergency at a local farm, where a rare breed ewe has given birth to one lamb already." The Yorkshire Vet is free to stream on 5 Up.
