Anna Madeley on Mrs. Hall and Gerald’s Relationship
In a Season 4 interview with MASTERPIECE, All Creatures Great and Small‘s Anna Madeley shares her insights about Mrs. Hall and Gerald’s (somewhat polarizing, always lovely) relationship, how hard it’s become for Mrs. Hall to leave, if there’s a future for Mrs. Hall and Siegfried, and—perhaps most importantly—if the dogs will be okay without each other.
Contains significant Episode 6 spoilers
When did you find out that Mrs. Hall and Gerald wouldn’t end up together? Did you know from the beginning?
No, at the beginning I don’t think there was a plan necessarily for Gerald to be with us for three series [seasons]. He came in as a character and we all loved him, and he became part of the world, so then he stayed on and became more part of the world. I think one of the things that’s lovely in the way they write the show is that they keep writing as it goes along, so they respond to what someone brings to the work, which is great. Will [Thorpe, who plays Gerald] brought this really lovely character who we all slightly fell in love with. Therefore, he had this much longer story, and those two characters just got on really well.
I think it opened up a side of Mrs. Hall’s life that no one else within that household does, so it was quite an exciting other avenue. And having a character who’s her age group, who has lived through the first World War, and with whom she can quietly knock about and have fun, go out and do things that aren’t connected to do with work—this is absolutely your friend outside of all of that. Very early on, Melissa Gallant, our executive producer, was like, “Gerald’s the first person that’s made Mrs. Hall a cup of tea.” He’s the one who’s offering to do the washing up and things. So he brings in a very different energy, a different dynamic, to that household, and gets on really well with her.
Do you imagine that if Gerald hadn’t had to leave, they would have gotten married and they could have made it work?
It’s an interesting one, isn’t it? I think, what would have happened if the war wasn’t there? They’re big “if”s, aren’t they? I think there’s a world in which those two characters could have made each other quite happy. I think they were good companions for one another and had a lot in common. It’s difficult to answer, isn’t it, knowing that it had to come to an end? It’s quite difficult to think about the “what if”s.
I think that what’s so hard at the end is that there isn’t a reason between them, as such, for it not to have worked out. The reasons it’s not working out are outside obligations and outside relationships, the people that they know and love and who they want to be near. And I think the war heightens all those feelings in that obviously, his sister needs him regardless of the war, but that probably makes it all the more urgent. Mrs. Hall had to leave a family unit before and had to restart her life, so it was a big thing that she thought she could do. But it would have involved a huge sacrifice, a lot of the relationships that she’d have really had to say goodbye to. Because it’s hard enough now, isn’t it, having relationships with people who are a long way away? But then it would have been letters only, I suppose. So yeah, I think there probably is a world in which it would have been very sweet and could have worked out, but…
Gerald said, “I’ve always known this would happen. Maybe it was never meant to be.” That was surprising. Why do you think he said it?
It’s interesting, isn’t it? I think it’s an idea. Because I think for a lot of people, his increasing presence in Mrs. Hall’s life and the surprise of her running and kissing him at the end of [Season 3], it’s polarized a bit, hasn’t it? Some people would like Mrs. Hall and Siegfried Farnon to get together and other people don’t want that at all; they think that would never happen. People have very different opinions on it.
But yes, I think her strength of commitment, the evolution of her friendship alone with Mr. Farnon, and her burgeoning relationship with Helen, with all of those things, I think we see that community and how much she’s needed as well, as she wants to be there for those people. And I wonder now, looking back slightly, whether Gerald had to keep prompting her to hand in her resignation. And you think, not consciously, but she somewhere was unsure. Sometimes, if you’re sure, it can be simple, but I think in this case it was very complicated.
And to me, that’s where that comes from. Siegfried Farnon has always been a strong presence, and it’s complicated because he’s her employer, as well. It’s a lot she’s giving up. For a woman who’s in a position where she’s independent, but she’s entirely dependent on her income from that job, and that’s also where she lives, it was a big thing to offer to give all of that up and to go towards something quite unknown.
I think all that uncertainty is probably what fed that comment near the end that something wasn’t sure. But at the same time, I think they love each other and have huge affection for one another. And will continue to, I think. But something about the path wasn’t going to be smooth.
In the time that we’ve known her, Mrs. Hall has made a tremendous leap in her life. Can you talk about how Gerald was one of many who helped her to arrive at the place where she could get her divorce and move forward?
It’s in Season 2 that we meet Diana Brompton, in the early days of Gerald being on the scene, which has thrown Mrs. Hall for a bit of a loop—she doesn’t quite know what to do with herself. At that point, it’s been a long time since Mrs. Hall’s thought of herself in that light. She’s brought up her son and moved on, and is pleased to have found what’s become more than a job—it’s her surrogate family, and it fulfills her need to be a nurturer. She really enjoys being someone who makes that household function and come to life. I think that is genuinely where she finds the joy.
But Gerald is the first time that romantic possibility is opening up again, and she’s quite naive. She’s probably only ever been with her husband, and dating is not a world she knows terribly well. So Diana Brompton is, I suppose, a slightly shocking character for her, in a gentle way. She’s a woman who’s quite open about, “Yes, I’ve got divorced and I’m having a marvelous time.” I think knowing that’s a possibility is quite interesting for her, and then having somebody come along who makes it seem like there’s a world out there in which that could happen for Mrs. Hall…
Somehow those elements don’t all quite come together at the right time; it’s too complicated. But they open up that world, and I think it makes her realize how she can’t coexist being married and enjoying what’s become more than a friendship with Gerald. She needs to be at one with herself. It is an interesting journey for her, having made peace with her son, and then needing to be at one with herself, with her own conscience, and be okay with how she’s behaving.
So the divorce is the answer, even though it’s a difficult and a new thing to do. The law only changed in 1937 to make the grounds possible. And it’s quite exposing for her. She’s someone who took the vows she made very seriously, and the idea of having to confront the fact that it’s not then for life was a very big deal for her. But I think knowing that there was joy and happiness on the other side of it, and that she would feel better, was really important. I think Gerald’s presence in her life probably was part of what propelled her forwards and gave her the confidence to do it.
Do you have a favorite Mrs. Hall and Gerald moment?
I’m not sure if there’s any one particular scene. I suppose what I think I’ll miss, both me and Mrs. Hall, is that their relationship was so about going out, walking their dogs, taking the air, having someone to chat to, and just have gentle fun with. Those scenes were always a lot of fun with Will to do because he’s so funny. We had a lot of fun doing them, but it was also just a really delicate, sweet evolution of a friendship as they walked their dogs. We had a lot of fun shooting things, like when the dog gets hold of the joints of meat in the kitchen. It was very funny. But yeah, in a lot of those scenes we had a good time.
After the end of Episode 6, I feel like the show wants me to hope that Mrs. Hall and Siegfried will end up together. Do you think that the series wants me to want this, or do you think the series just wants me to know that Siegfried is feeling back on his feet again, or none of the above?
Maybe all of the above. I think it’s probably made them all realize what’s at stake, that it’s not easy to walk away. And that’s quite interesting. What it means to them, we don’t know. I know there’s a lot of chat about it. And it’s relationship where you feel that they started off as an employer/employee, but the friendship has grown, the degrees of intimacy have grown. They know a lot about one another’s lives. And Siegfried’s been a wonderful friend to her, in a way, through the divorce. He’s not judgmental about it at all and he offers to help her. He doesn’t quite know what to do, but he wants to be part of making her happy.
And that’s one of the things that’s rather lovely: not always knowing how, but always wanting one another’s happiness. I think that growing affection is there, and I do think at the end of Episode 6, there was a slight feeling of relief in the decision made. Once the decision’s been made, it’s quite interesting, isn’t it? Whether it leaves you going, “Oh God, why did I do that?” Or whether it leaves you feeling, “Okay, it’s sore, it’s not comfortable, a bit of time needs to pass, but something in you says that’s the right decision.” And I think you do see that he’s very glad that she stayed.
We know that Mrs. Hall will be okay after this breakup, and we viewers, eventually, will be okay too. But do you think that Jess will be okay about losing Rock?
Well, I don’t know, because that’s going to be a big part of their lives—they’re going to be going out for a walk without their chums. I was thinking about that. Jess does have Dash now in the house, so she’s not completely alone in the home, and she’ll probably be okay. But maybe we need to find another chum. We need to grow that pack of dogs until we’ve got as many as there are in the books.
