Ralf Little’s famous brother stars in ‘masterpiece’ period drama with medical twist

Death in Paradise fans are raving about a “masterpiece” period drama starring Ralf Little’s famous brother. The Royle Family actor, 45, is brother to Ross Little, who has been acting since the early 2000s. His most recent role came in 2017 TV miniseries Little Boy Blue, in which he played an anaesthetist, but years before that he starred in 34 episodes of a drama set in the 1950s.

Born and Bred, which ran from 2002 until 2005, followed two doctors living in the fictional Lancashire village of Ormston. The father-and-son duo were tasked with running the cottage hospital under the newly established National Health Service, which began in 1948 after the conclusion of World War 2.

Ross starred as Michael Gilder in the series, alongside actors like Peter Gunn, Naomi Radcliffe and James Bolam.

Reviews for the series praised its “gentle humour”, branding it similar to The Darling Buds of May. One keen viewer wrote: “Good humour for all ages – creative, quirky, heartwarming. Great cast in a beautiful location.”

Someone else said: “Absolutely loved it. The characters are great. The storylines are just lovely. A superb watch!”

Another hailed the programme “exceptional”, while on IMDb reviewer wrote: “Born and Bred was exquisitely filmed, both the scenery and photography are breathtaking.”

And another viewer agreed: “The setting, the writing and the acting were perfect Sunday night stuff as was Heartbeat and so on. What strikes you about it is how the young actors Ross Little and Polly Thompson really grew into their parts!”

Born and Bred ran for four series, as well as a Christmas special, originally aired on BBC One. It was filmed in East Lancashire, primarily in Downham, as well as scenes in Helmshore and Settle, North Yorkshire.