PETER WRIGHT TURNS 70 — THE YORKSHIRE VET’S LIFE OF ANIMALS, COMPASSION AND A VERY SPECIAL CAUSE

From following in the footsteps of James Herriot to becoming one of Britain’s best-known television vets, Peter Wright has spent decades caring for animals. At 70, his work with donkeys has become another important part of his remarkable story.

There are some television faces that become instantly familiar.

For millions of viewers, Peter Wright is one of them.

The much-loved star of Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet is celebrating his 70th birthday, marking seven decades of a life shaped by animals, rural Yorkshire and a veterinary career that has taken him from local farms to television screens across the country.

But behind the familiar television personality is a veterinarian whose connection with animals began long before the cameras arrived.

And one of the causes particularly close to his heart is the welfare of donkeys.

FROM RURAL YORKSHIRE TO VETERINARY MEDICINE

Peter was born in October 1956 and grew up in rural North Yorkshire, surrounded by family farms and the countryside.

His passion for animals developed at an early age.

While attending Thirsk School, Peter was encouraged to consider veterinary science. A connection to the practice of legendary vet and author Alf Wight — better known as James Herriot — eventually gave him the opportunity to spend time at the practice in Thirsk.

That experience changed the direction of his life.

Peter later studied veterinary science at the University of Liverpool, qualifying in 1981.

He subsequently returned to North Yorkshire and built a long career at Skeldale Veterinary Centre, the practice famously associated with James Herriot.

Peter worked there for decades, eventually becoming one of the best-known faces associated with the practice.

THEN CAME THE YORKSHIRE VET

In 2014, Peter was approached by Daisybeck Studios about a new television series following the everyday work of rural vets.

The result was The Yorkshire Vet.

The programme first appeared on Channel 5 in 2015 and quickly became a favourite with viewers, offering an unscripted look at everything from farm animals and horses to household pets.

Peter’s partnership with fellow veterinarian Julian Norton became central to the show’s appeal.

A decade later, the series remains a major part of British factual television. A 2026 Royal Television Society feature celebrating the programme’s 10th anniversary reported that it attracts more than one million live viewers for regular broadcasts, with millions more watching through catch-up.

For Peter, television simply provided another way of sharing the work he had already spent his life doing.

A PASSION THAT EXTENDS BEYOND THE SCREEN

While viewers know Peter for his work treating animals in Yorkshire, his commitment to animal welfare has also taken him into the world of charity.

In 2019, Peter became an ambassador for The Donkey Sanctuary, an organisation dedicated to improving the welfare of donkeys in Britain and around the world.

The charity described his lifelong dedication and compassion for veterinary work as a major reason for welcoming him into the role.

Peter was already familiar with the charity before becoming an ambassador.

In 2018, he visited its donkey hospital in Devon as part of Channel 5’s Help the Animals at Christmas. During the visit, he assisted with an operation on a donkey named Poppy, who needed treatment for a potentially life-threatening sarcoid.

THE DONKEYS WHO CAPTURED HIS HEART

Peter’s work with the charity has taken him behind the scenes at donkey sanctuaries, where he has seen first-hand the specialist care required by animals who have been abandoned, neglected or suffered serious health problems.

In 2019, viewers also saw him explore the world of donkey welfare in The Yorkshire Vet’s Donkey Day Out.

The programme followed Peter as he travelled to London with donkey-loving friends Steve and Jean Green before visiting a donkey sanctuary in Sidmouth, Devon.

For Peter, the experience offered another opportunity to show viewers the quieter side of veterinary care — and why protecting vulnerable animals matters.

His connection with the charity has continued.

The Donkey Sanctuary’s recent reports have noted further filming visits involving Peter and The Yorkshire Vet team, including work highlighting donkey care and welfare.

A CAREER BUILT ON THE HERRIOT LEGACY

Peter’s career has another remarkable connection.

He was once a young apprentice of James Herriot, the legendary Yorkshire vet whose real name was Alf Wight.

Decades later, Peter found himself helping introduce a new generation of viewers to the realities of rural veterinary medicine.

His own memoir, The Yorkshire Vet: In the Footsteps of Herriot, published in 2019, tells the story of his career and his experiences working alongside Wight and Donald Sinclair, the real-life figures who inspired the famous characters of All Creatures Great and Small.

It is a fitting circle in a career that has remained closely connected to the Yorkshire countryside.

70 YEARS — AND STILL SURROUNDED BY ANIMALS

Turning 70 marks a remarkable milestone.

Peter has spent almost his entire professional life caring for animals and working with the people whose livelihoods depend on them.

He has treated countless creatures, trained younger generations of vets, appeared on television for more than a decade and become an advocate for animals far beyond Yorkshire.

His work with donkeys has added another dimension to that legacy.

For viewers, however, perhaps one of the most enduring things about Peter Wright is the same quality that has defined his veterinary career from the beginning: a genuine affection for animals.

Whether he is standing in a Yorkshire field, working inside a veterinary practice or meeting a herd of donkeys at a sanctuary, his enthusiasm remains unmistakable.

A BIRTHDAY WORTH CELEBRATING

Seventy years is a milestone.

But for Peter Wright, it is also another chapter in a life that has never strayed far from the animals he has loved since childhood.

From a young boy growing up among the farms of North Yorkshire, to working alongside James Herriot, to becoming a household name through The Yorkshire Vet, his journey has been extraordinary.

And as he celebrates his 70th birthday, there is still another part of his story worth celebrating — the work he continues to do for animals that may otherwise have no voice.

Happy 70th birthday, Peter Wright.

For generations of animal lovers, the Yorkshire vet has shown that sometimes the greatest stories are not about fame at all.

They are about compassion, dedication — and the animals waiting for someone to care.