Carol Drinkwater
: Carol Drinkwater (born April 22, 1948) is a British actress, author, and filmmaker. Best known for playing Helen Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small, she later emerged as a bestselling writer with her “Olive Farm” memoirs and travel series.
Introduction
Carol Drinkwater is a multi-talented British actress turned writer and filmmaker, whose career spans stage, television, cinema, and literary ventures. She gained fame as Helen Herriot in the BBC’s All Creatures Great and Small and later reinvented her life around olive farming in Provence, chronicling that journey in popular books and travel documentaries.
Her transition from performer to storyteller reflects both a love for place and a deep curiosity about life, memory, and reinvention. In what follows, we trace her early life, acting career, literary turning point, influence, and some of the memorable insights she has shared.
Early Life and Family
Carol Drinkwater was born on 22 April 1948 in London, England.
She has a younger sister, Linda Regan, who is also an actress and a writer.
From early on, she showed interest in drama, writing, and storytelling. In interviews, she has said she kept diaries from the age of eight and had a penchant for performance and self-expression.
Acting Career
Early Acting & Stage Work
Carol trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. Nurse Feeley in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971).
Over the years, she appeared in television and film roles including The Shout (1978), Queen Kong (1976), Father (1990), and An Awfully Big Adventure (1995).
For her performance as Anne in Father, acting opposite Max von Sydow, she won the Critics’ Circle Best Screen Actress Award.
She was also a member of the National Theatre Company under the leadership of Laurence Olivier, appearing in stage productions beyond her screen work.
All Creatures Great and Small
Her most iconic role came in television: she portrayed Helen Herriot (née Alderson) in the BBC adaptation of James Herriot’s animal stories. She played this role during the first three series (1978 to 1985), appearing in 39 episodes.
Her performance earned her the Variety Club Television Personality of the Year award in 1985.
She later reflected that she left the role because she felt there was no further direction to take the character, stating:
“I’d given everything I could and I couldn’t think where else I could take the role … I wasn’t leaving in any kind of spiteful thing.”
She also claimed that her departure angered BBC executives, who allegedly imposed a ban on using her afterward.
There was also a personal dimension: during the early run of the show, she had a relationship with her onscreen husband, Christopher Timothy — a development she says led to hostile reactions from some segments of the public.
Later Screen & TV Work
Beyond All Creatures, she appeared in television series such as Chocky and Golden Pennies, as well as mini-series like Captain James Cook and other dramas.
Her screen resume also includes roles in An Awfully Big Adventure and Father, as mentioned above.
Over time, her screen acting slowed as writing and filmmaking became more central to her creative life.
Literary & Filmmaking Career
The Olive Farm Memoirs & Books
In the mid-2000s, Carol began publishing a series of memoirs about her life in Provence, centered on her olive farm and Mediterranean life, known collectively as The Olive Series. Her books include:
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The Olive Farm: A Memoir of Life, Love and Olive Oil in the South of France
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The Olive Season
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The Olive Harvest
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A Celebration of Olives (a compilation)
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The Illustrated Olive Farm
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The Olive Route: A Personal Journey to the Heart of the Mediterranean
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The Olive Tree: A Personal Journey Through Mediterranean Olive Groves
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Return to the Olive Farm
Her memoirs sold well, with over a million copies in total, and they resonated with readers interested in place, transformation, and life reinvention.
Carol has said that after living an urban, secure life, she and her husband bought a ruined farmhouse in Provence, restoring it and rebuilding their lives in rural rhythm.
Documentaries & Film Projects
Her travel writing inspired documentary projects and film series. In 2013, she produced a five-part documentary series based on her Mediterranean books (The Olive Route / The Olive Tree), broadcast internationally.
More recently, she filmed a six-part documentary series in 2021 called Carol Drinkwater’s Secret Provence, covering aspects of life, landscape, and lore in Provence.
Fiction & Other Works
Beyond memoirs, Carol has published novels, children’s books, and narrative fiction:
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The Forgotten Summer (2016)
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The Lost Girl (2017)
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The House on the Edge of the Cliff (2019)
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An Act of Love (2021)
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Young adult and children’s books such as The Haunted School (which was adapted into a TV mini-series)
In a 2017 interview, she alleged a sexual assault attempt by director Elia Kazan in 1975, which she said was part of how The Lost Girl developed.
Legacy and Influence
Carol Drinkwater’s journey from actress to bestselling author and filmmaker is itself a testimony to reinvention and creative resilience. Her influence is multifaceted:
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She played a beloved role on British television that remains part of the cultural memory of All Creatures Great and Small.
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Her memoirs opened a path for actors and public figures to pivot into intimate, place-based writing, especially travel memoirs grounded in personal transformation.
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Her documentaries and travel works contribute to cultural understanding of Provence, Mediterranean olive culture, and the tension between tradition and modernization.
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She has modeled a public voice in later life—addressing loss, reinvention, aging, creativity, and voice—with transparency.
Her story encourages readers and artists to lean into change, follow passions, and find new language for life transitions.
Personality and Talents
Carol Drinkwater’s traits and capabilities include:
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Restless curiosity: She merges travel, history, agriculture, narrative, and place into her work.
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Emotional openness: Her memoirs often speak candidly about love, loss, identity, and the pulses of daily life.
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Discipline & honesty: In interviews she emphasizes her work ethic, perseverance, and commitment to truth in storytelling.
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Deep connection to place: Provence and the Mediterranean are not backdrops but co-characters in her writing and film work.
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Courage to shift: She embraced a radical life change—leaving perhaps more comfortable cultural identity to farm in rural France, and translate that into creative output.
She has acknowledged the solitude and challenge of writing, and the tension of creative identity transitions.
Famous Quotes by Carol Drinkwater
Here are some memorable quotes that reflect her sensibility and life philosophy:
“I have lived in the South of France — think cobalt skies, lapping waves, rocky bays — for almost 35 years.”
“My first job after drama school was with Stanley Kubrick. It was only a few lines in A Clockwork Orange, but I was working with a master of cinema.”
“I am moving the rudder, shifting the course of my life. … Taking my fate into my own hands, turning dreams into reality.”
“Although I still think of myself as an actress, most of my time is spent writing novels or memoirs about my adventures and travels.”
“Personal loss is a trial that we all face. … You grow stronger as you work your way through whatever life has thrown at you or you buckle and go under.”
“All olives ripen green, then change to rose, shades of purple, and black … Once the fruits are ripe, they can be picked at any stage.”
These lines show her attunement to nature, transformation, resilience, and the interplay of creative identity.
Lessons from Carol Drinkwater’s Life
From her life and career, several lessons emerge:
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It’s never too late for reinvention: Her pivot from acting to author and filmmaker in middle life opened new creative horizons.
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Place can be a muse: Living among olive groves, fields, and rural landscapes grounded her voice and gave narrative depth.
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Creative risk is essential: She left roles and locations, risking stability, to follow deeper impulses.
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Voice comes from truth: Her memoirs and novels arise from lived experience rather than mere imagination.
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Embrace solitude and discipline: The writer’s life is lonely; her noted discipline and perseverance speak to the daily work behind the art.
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Tell your own story: She reclaimed narrative by writing her memoirs rather than passively letting the public imagine her life.
Conclusion
Carol Drinkwater’s life is a portrait of artistic evolution: from trained actress in London, to television star in iconic British drama, to memoirist, novelist, and filmmaker inspired by the land and light of Provence. Her story is about following inner callings, marrying art to life, and translating place into narrative.