The real Siegfried Farnon's heartbreak after tragic loss of first wife

All Creatures Great and Small, currently showing reruns on Channel 5, features Samuel West as the quirky owner of Skeldale House, Siegfried Farnon.

In the series, Siegfried is a bachelor, but fans are hoping for a romance to blossom between him and his housekeeper, Mrs Hall (Anna Madeley). The drama has touched upon Siegfried's past love affairs, revealing that he is a widower after losing his wife Evelyn.

Interestingly, the real-life Donald Sinclair was indeed married to a woman named Evelyn, although he is more commonly associated with his second wife, Audrey.

All Creatures pays homage to Evelyn as Siegfried reminisces about his late wife, her name having been mentioned casually several times, reports the Manchester Evening News.

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Donald became a widower at a young age when his wife Evelyn tragically died from tuberculosis just a few years into their marriage.

They exchanged vows in November 1930 at St. Giles in Edinburgh, both being only 19 years old at the time.

Following his graduation, the couple relocated to the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Tragically, Evelyn died from tuberculosis, contracted from tainted milk, at the tender age of 24 in 1936, three years before Donald purchased the Kirkgate property made famous in the James Herriot series.

The couple did not have any children, however, Donald later had two children with his second wife, Audrey.

They had a daughter, Audrey Janet Sinclair, who went by her middle name, and a son named Alan Donald Sinclair.

Regarding his own health, Donald didn't retire from his veterinary duties until he was 80, when a suspected stroke temporarily slowed him down.

He believed he had recovered within a day and discharged himself from the hospital, as reported by findagrave.com..

Donald's second wife, Audrey, died in 1995, just a fortnight before Donald himself.

All Creatures Great and Small is airing on Channel 5