A STAR of All Creatures Great and Small has revealed she was banned from the BBC after quitting the show.
Carol Drinkwater was left fighting back tears as she watched and recounted her time on the beloved BBC show.
The series originally aired in 1978 and ran for seven seasons before being axed in 1990.
It featured James Herriot, a young vet who arrived in the village to look after the animals.
The character, played by Christopher Timothy, ended up falling in love with Helen, who was portrayed by Carol Drinkwater.
However, when the show reached its third series on air there were a number of cast departures and shake-ups, with Carol ultimately leaving and Lynda Bellingham replacing her.
But now the 76-year-old has claimed Beeb execs ‘banned’ her from being involved in any future projects after she decided to leave the programme.
Speaking to Alan Titchmarsh on his ITV show, Carol explained: “I’d given everything I could and I couldn’t think where else I could take the role, because there was no more material.
“I wasn’t leaving in any kind of spiteful thing. The BBC was so angry with me, they put a ban on using me.”
She continued: “So they re-cast and another actress got the role. I was terribly upset because it was a wonderful role and would have been very good for me.
“I must say now, looking back on my career, it’s one of the few things in my life I would do differently, and I wouldn’t have left.”
Channel 5 rebooted All Creatures Great and Small in 2020 featuring a brand new cast for its new era.
The lineup includes It stars Rachel Shenton, Callum Woodhouse, Nicholas Ralph and Samuel West.
Bosses recently revealed it had been recommissioned for a fifth and sixth series.
The hit show is based on best-selling author James Herriot’s stories.
