Diana Rigg wows in final All Creatures Great and Small appearance

Dame Diana Rigg wowed audiences in her final role as Mrs Pumphrey in Channel 5’s reboot of All Creatures Great and Small, which aired this week. 

The Yorkshire-born actress, who died yesterday aged 82, made her debut in the show as an eccentric wealthy widow who was besotted by her Pekingnese dog Trick-Woo in this week’s episode of the new series.

The former Bond girl will appear throughout the six episode series, airing on Tuesdays for the next month, which is based on the semi-autobiographical books by James Herriott about his time as a Yorkshire vet.

On Tuesday night, viewers branded the actresses portrayal of the character ‘marvellous’ ‘fabulous’ ‘genius’ and ‘brilliant’ as they were introduced to the  lovable older lady who called the vet to help when her prize pooch was having stomach problems due to his rich diet of trifle and beef wellington. 

In the episode, James (Nicholas Ralph) a new assistant for larger than life vet Siegfried Farnon, played by Mr Selfridge star Samuel West, picks up his bosses younger brother Tristan, who is returning from University.  

Tristan, played by Callum Woodhouse (The Durrells) takes James to the home of wealthy widow Mrs Pumphrey, who is having trouble with her extremely spoilt pet Tricki Woo. 

Mrs Pumphrey is won over by James and quickly refers to him as ‘Uncle Herriot’. 

On behalf on Trick Woo, James is then invited to a white tie dance at  Mrs Pumphrey’s manor.

Viewers praised Diana’s performance as the rich and slightly unconventional landowner, just two days before the news broke of her passing from cancer.

‘Totally captivated Diana Rigg as Mrs Pumphrey! said one viewer.

‘Diana Rigg is excellent,’ added another.

‘Diana Rigg as Mrs Pumphrey = GENIUS!’ said a third.

‘Marvellous to see Diana Rigg as Mrs Pumphrey!’ wrote a fourth.   

The British actress made her name in the cult 1961 TV series The Avengers, before going on to star as the cutthroat matriarch Lady Olenna Tyrell in HBO’s Game of Thrones, a show she later admitted she had never watched.

Confirming her death, her agent said that Rigg had died ‘peacefully’ on Thursday morning, adding that she had been ‘at home with her family who have asked for privacy at this difficult time’.

Starting out as a classically trained actress in the Royal Shakespeare Company, Dame Diana’s engrossing stage performances were said to come from her ‘funny and feisty’ personality.

Jonathan Kent, who directed Rigg in a production of Medea said that her ‘combination of force of personality, beauty, courage and sheer emotional power, made her a great classical actress – one of an astonishing generation of British stage performers’.

The star, who won Bafta, Emmy and Tony awards, also earned worldwide acclaim for her turn as a Bond girl Tracy di Vicenzo in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969, where she became only the second Bond girl to marry 007. 

Her last hurrah was in All Creatures Great and Small, which opened to a debut audience of  3.3M viewers, making it the most viewed show to air on Channel 5 in five years.

The reboot of the 1980s hit comes amid a huge surge in popularity of shows about rural life, with Our Yorkshire Farm, following the real-life dramas of a shepherdess and her nine children, emerging as the surprise hit of the summer. 

The story is based on the real experience of James Herriot (real name Alf Wright) and his semi-autobiographical series of books, which were based on his interactions in the Yorkshire Dales. 

The collected works of All Creatures Great and Small have sold 60million copies internationally and have never been out of print.

Its most famous adaptation originally ran on the BBC from 1978 to 1990 with Christopher Timothy as the Dales vet and Robert Hardy as his boss, Siegfried Farnon. 

The show is set in the stunning Yorkshire Dales,  and will air after The Yorkshire Vet, a real-life programme about a of Skeldale Veterinary Centre in Thirsk, North Yorkshire – once the practice of Alf Wight.

The Yorkshire Vet is narrated by Christopher Timothy, who played Herriot in the original series of All Creatures Great and Small that aired 30 years ago.  

In a statement last night, Channel 5 said: ‘We are terribly saddened to hear the news today of Dame Diana’s passing. She was a stage and screen icon, who most recently starred as the loveable and eccentric Mrs. Pumphrey in our adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small.

Sir Colin Callender, Executive Producer of All Creatures Great and Small added: ‘Dame Diana will be sorely missed across the creative industries and our thoughts go out to her friends and family at this time.’ 

‘All of us at Al Creatures Great and Small are heartbroken by the passing of Dame Diana Rigg one the greats of British acting royalty. 

‘From day one we wanted Dame Diana to play James Herriot’s iconic character Mrs. Pumphrey and we were thrilled when she said yes. 

‘She embraced the role with reckless abandon and brought to the screen enormous glamour, dignity and self-deprecating wit. We were deeply privileged to have worked with her. She will be deeply missed.’