IN its heyday it attracted 18 million viewers every week. Now the TV series which chronicled the life of North Yorkshire vet James Herriot could be returning to the screens - with some Harry Potter magic.

Reports suggested a new series was being planned to chart the early life of the famous Thirsk vet, with newspaper reports that Potter star Daniel Radcliffe was lined up for the lead role.

The original series, All Creatures Great And Small, which starred Christopher Timothy as Herriot and Robert Hardy as Siegfried, ran for more than ten years and was hugely popular.

One hundred episodes were made and are still being shown on television across the world today.

James Herriot was the pen-name of vet Alf Wight, who worked for 50 years in and around Thirsk and brought the area to life in a series of books which sold 70 million copies worldwide.

Including titles like It Shouldn't Happen To A Vet and If Only They Could Talk, the books spawned two hit films as well as the series. Mr Wight died of cancer in 1995 at the age of 78.

Tourism bosses have marketed the area around Mr Wight's veterinary practice as Herriot Country.

The new series, which would be called Young James, has been written by scriptwriter Johnny Byrne, who wrote much of the original series. He is also known for writing episodes of Heartbeat - another popular TV drama set in North Yorkshire.

Mr Byrne said he had spent nine months researching the series, which he said was now with a production company and "ready to go".

Lesley Wragg, North Yorkshire's tourist board spokeswoman, said: "The impact on tourism here is still significant, James Herriot is loved around the world."

Sue Dalton, of the World Of James Herriot attraction, in Thirsk, said: "Obviously a new TV series would be good news for the visitor centre and the whole of North Yorkshire.

"The series and the books are still incredibly popular - we get more than 50,000 visitors a year. A new TV series could bring James Herriot back into the front room of a new generation."

Updated: 09:06 Tuesday, March 15, 2005