Call The Midwife

Before Pam Ferris picked up a religious habit as Sister Evangelina, she won the hearts of sitcom fans in another historical drama

Call the Midwife icon Pam Ferris is a world away from Sister Evangelina in this 90s classic television show.

The 78-year-old actress is famed for playing tough-talking nun Sister Evangelina on the BBC series, who dedicated her life not only to her religion but also to serving the poorest communities in London as a senior midwife.

Sister Evangelina is an original character introduced during the first episode, which aired in 2012. But only four years later, the beloved nun died suddenly in her sleep after suffering a stroke, leaving Fred Buckle (Cliff Parisi) to find her lifeless body in her chair.

Earlier this year, during the series 15 finale, Pam Ferris reprised her role as Sister Evangelina to guide her dear friend Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) into the afterlife in a very emotional scene.

However, before Ferris ever picked up her wimple and adopted constant words of wisdom, she was known by sitcom fans for her role in another cosy period drama, The Darling Buds of May.

The much-loved ITV series debuted in April 1991 and is an adaptation of the H. E. Bates novel of the same name.

The show told the story of the Larkin family and their lives in rural Kent during the 1950s, and was led by a small cast, including Sir David Jason as Pop Larkin, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Mariette, and Philip Franks as Cedric.

It quickly became a feel-good ratings success and will surely always be seen as a ‘90s classic – despite only running for 20 episodes.

The Darling Buds of May is currently streaming for free on ITVX and has been hailed as a must-watch by fans who have enjoyed the show for decades.

On IMDb, one person dubbed the show “So endearing, funny and perfect!”, while a second added, “If only there was more.”

A third stated: “It doesn’t get much better! I purchased the whole series a few years ago and then watched the whole series within a few days.”

“One of the most beloved British comedy-dramas of the 1990s, The Darling Buds of May remains a comforting television classic — full of warmth, countryside charm, and unforgettable performances”, wrote one person on Facebook.

“Loved it…. easy watching….like All Creatures Great and Small”, commented one viewer while another confessed: “I absolutely love this programme and always watch when it’s on the television no matter how many times I watch.”

Over the years, Ferris has gained more fame on the big screen as the wicked Miss Trunchball in Matilda, floating Aunt Marge in the Harry Potter franchise, and kind-hearted headteacher, Mrs Bevan, in Nativity!

She went on to feature in a number of costume dramas, such as Middlemarch, Jane Eyre, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and popular crime serials, such as Marple, Rosemary & Thyme, and Luther, and even appeared as Cath in the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey.

Call the Midwife is available on BBC iPlayer

One former resident of Weatherfield could be about to make a shock return to Weatherfield, more than a decade after she departed the ITV soap, and fans have “worked out” how

One former resident of Weatherfield could be about to make a shock return to Coronation Street – almost 15 years on from her departure. Fans are convinced Amber Kalirai is making a comeback.

In the latest scenes on the ITV soap, Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) has decided to sell her share of the Speed Daal restaurant, leaving her colleague Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) a little surprised to say the least. Leanne’s new boyfriend Idris, who turned up as Alya’s long-lost cousin before hastily announcing he was in fact her long-lost uncle, seems determined to get his hands on it.

But now, fans have claimed that they would like to see Amber Kalirai, the daughter of shopkeeper Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin), make a comeback and snap up the business for herself.

One fan wrote on X:”Totally random Amber Devs daughter should be the new speed daal owner,” and the idea quickly spread across social media.

Taking to Facebook, one fan said: “Wouldn’t it be interesting if the new co owner of speed daal was Devs daughter Amber,” and another said: “Be good to see her back, she is never mentioned.”

A third wrote: “Great little actress. I would love to see her back in Corrie!” and a fourth said: “Loved her-underrated character-stood up to Dev.” A fifth simply demanded: “Bring Amber back!”

Amber was played by actress Nikki Patel, 36, who made her debut on Coronation Street in 2005 and stayed with the programme for four years.

In the summer of 2011, Amber made a comeback and stayed for just under a year, bowing out in March 2012. During her final few months on the cobbles, Amber made friends with Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan) and Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent), who fell for her in what was a case of unrequited love.

In the end, though, unable to mend her already-tricky relationship with stepmother Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati), she got a job in London and has not been seen since.

When Sunita was killed off after being trapped in the fire at the Rovers Return in 2013, Amber was informed but was unable to attend the funeral as she was travelling with her new boyfriend.

Away from Coronation Street, Nikki has appeared in Waterloo Road, Holy City and Call The Midwife but has also performed in numerous plays, and, earlier this year, announced that she had written a new BBC sitcom titled The Patels, which, if commissioned, will focus on two Gurajti women who must put their difference aside for the sake of their sons.

Speaking to Female Pilot Club, she explained: “There are some heavy issues that they’re talking about but they do it in such an accessible, beautiful way, with a normalised family, which could be difficult. And that’s kind of presented in a dramatic setting.

“I just want to be part of a conversation with that community, potentially help people, [because] there are families going through this right now now where the kids are afraid to be and show who they really are.

“And I think it’s so sad and it’s crazy to me … so I kind of want to be part of a change. Maybe that’s really big wishful thinking. But like I said, comedy is a way to try and do that.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X.

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Killing Eve’s Harriet Walter was left ‘astounded’ after discovering her mother’s incredible secret job on Who Do You Think You Are

Dame Harriet Walter was left speechless after discovering an ‘astounding’ secret about her mother.

The legendary actress, 75, has graced our screens for years in incredible films and television shows, such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rocketman, Downton Abbey, The Crown, Succession, Killing Eve, Ted Lasso and Call The Midwife.

However, Harriet put her family in the spotlight for the latest episode of Who Do You Think You Are? on Thursday night, where she discovered an incredible secret about her mother, Xandra Lee – the elder sister of renowned actor Sir Christopher Lee.

Showing old pictures of her lookalike mother, Harriet said: “This is my mother, Xandra. She was a very sweet woman, had the most amazing sense of humour, but she was sort of slightly belittled by the men in my family.”

Harriet continued: “This picture is my parents, and they were married in December 1946. I knew a bit about what she did in the war. She worked in naval intelligence in the Admiralty, but she said, you would never in a million years tell your best friend, your husband, anybody what you were doing. You just would not do it.

“She said she was one of thousands of cogs in the machine and I just want to know much more about exactly what that machine was doing and what her part in it was. So I’m going to see what I can find.”

However, Harriet got more than she bargained for upon discovering her mother played an important role in the success of the 1944 D-Day landings, which she learnt thanks to ground-breaking research on women in wartime intelligence conducted by Dr Helen Fry.

During the meeting at the Old Admiralty Building in London, Dr Fry revealed after sharing archive details and facts: “To get this into perspective, your mother was in charge of the whole intelligence picture for naval intelligence for the D-Day landings.”

Harriet was left speechless as she put her head in her hands, before adding: “Wow, wow. It’s just astounding. It’s astounding. I had this rather frivolous idea of her sort of just having a great time in the canteen and flirting with the boys and I had no idea she had this sort of responsibility.”

Dr Fry then pointed out: “The oath of secrecy, they knew when they took it, it was for life and she kept it”, adding that her mother’s work was “detailed analytical work” and “highly responsible”.

Harriet added: “That is extraordinary. I’m sorry to say this, but when I think how she was sort of put down by my dad and my stepfather and, you know, ‘your mother’s not very logical’, you know, had they only known what she’d done, they might have treated her with more respect.

“Blimey. It’s so extraordinary. I’m rethinking my mother entirely. You know, it’s extraordinary how that changes your image of somebody, to think of her in that position of responsibility. I have such a mixture of feelings.

“I mean, mainly I’m astounded that my mother had any kind of significance in the war effort, because she never exposed anything of that sort. She was the epitome of, I would say, modesty in some kind. Not coy, but just sort of, ‘Oh, I don’t matter, darling.’ You know.

“I feel certainly silly that I’ve got some kind of fame for having done absolutely nothing except, you know, pretend to be other people for a living.

“And she, who had a quite a strong role in the D-Day landings, which opened up the whole path to peace. Good for her. Good for Xandra Carandini Lee.”

Who Do You Think You Are? airs at 9pm on Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Coronation Street has welcomed real-life family members to the Cobbles over the years

Soap operas blur the line between drama and reality when family members land roles on the same show.

Coronation Street star Isabella Flanagan plays Weatherfield’s Hope Stape, daughter of Fiz Brown (played by Jennie McAlpine), on the ITV show alongside her brother William, who portrays Joseph Brown, son of Chesney (Sam Aston).

The siblings also share a real-life connection to Emmerdale’s April Windsor star Amelia Flanagan, who is their big sister.

Cousins Brooke Vincent and Ellie Leach have both enjoyed successful stints on the show, while Rick Neelan actor Greg Wood is actually the real-life brother of Tommy Orpington star Matt Milburn.

Last month, Rosie Fleeshman became the latest member to follow in the footsteps of her famous sibling, Richard Fleeshman, enjoying a guest stint on Corrie. Their mum has also starred on the show.

Richard first graced the soap as Craig Harris in 2002, with his family, including father Tommy Harris (Thomas Craig), mother Angela Harris (Kathryn Hunt), and sister Katy (Lucy-Jo Hudson).

The family arrived in Weatherfield as part of a witness protection scheme, and they quickly stirred up some drama. Moreover, young Craig was central to several dramatic storylines during his tenure.

In 2005, he lost his entire family when his sister Katy killed their father Tommy in a rage, and their mother Angela took the fall. Unable to cope with the guilt, Katy later took her own life.

The character also embarked on a romance with Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan), becoming her first boyfriend. Craig even plotted to flee to Berlin with Rosie.

However, in 2006, Craig departed alone and bid farewell to the cobbles. Since then, actor Richard has kept himself occupied, appearing in shows such as Call the Midwife and Death in Paradise, as well as stage productions.

Richard hails from a talented family, as his mum, Sue Jenkins, who joined the cast of Coronation Street as Gloria Todd in 1985, became a regular face at the Rovers Return pub. She worked alongside Julie Goodyear, who famously played landlady Bet Lynch.

Beyond her time on Corrie, Sue also portrayed Jackie Corkhill in Brookside from 1992 to 2001, and made a brief appearance in Emmerdale in 2008 as Bonnie Drinkwater.

In 2024, Richard appeared on Loose Women and spoke to panellists Kaye Adams, Kelle Bryan, Linda Robson, and Jane Moore about his role on sci-fi show, The Ark and paid tribute to his mum’s time on Brookside.

“She was amazing in that show”, he said. “I was allowed to watch certain episodes growing up. Some of them were a little bit past my bedtime. It was an amazing show and such a great following.”

The revelation of Sue and Richard’s roles on Corrie left fans astounded. On X, previously known as Twitter, one viewer posted about Sue’s stint on Corrie.

Another fan responded: “That’s Richard Fleeshman’s mum!” A third person commented: “Wow, all this time watching and I never knew that, I can see her son in that photo now.” Yet another added: “Her real-life son played Craig Harris, son of Psycho Tommy!”

Richard’s dad is David Fleeshman, who appeared in Boys from the Blackstuff, and he credited his parents for inspiring his successful career. He said, “I grew up with both of them being around the industry fully, so it was just everything I knew.”

Coronation Street airs weekdays on ITV and ITVX

Call the Midwife favourite Judy Parfitt appeared on ITV’s Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh

A Call the Midwife legend has opened up about their emotional exit from the BBC drama.

Judy Parfitt is best known for playing Sister Monica Joan in the long-running series. Viewers were therefore left heartbroken when the cherished nun passed away peacefully in her bed at Nonnatus House in the season 15 finale.

During her final moments, Sister Monica Joan was emotionally reunited with Sister Evangelina (played by Pam Ferris), who unexpectedly died during the season five finale from a suspected stroke.

Actress Judy Parfitt appeared on ITV’s Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh on Sunday (June 7), where she was joined by Brian Conley, Freddie Fox, Julian Ovenden and Honeysuckle Weeks.

After being shown an “enormously sad” clip of Sister Monica Joan being reunited with Sister Evangelina, Alan said: “I can’t watch that,” with Judy admitting: “Neither can I!”

She added: “Showing me at my best, I see. Also, [I] had a cap and it had the thing [go] round, so all the wrinkles were pushed up. So, [you think], ‘God, do I look as bad as that?’ And the top lighting, it looked like the Grand Canyon!”

On being reunited with Pam Ferris, Judy went on: “It was absolutely wonderful, because, I think, Pam left after four years, and we used to sit together quite a lot during the time she was there, swapping recipes and everything – it was wonderful.

“I hadn’t seen her, we only phoned a couple of times after she left, and it was so wonderful to do that scene with her, because it’s like you’ve found your teammate, sort of [like] tennis or something, and she was throwing the ball back.

“It was just a lovely atmosphere, and we’ve kept in touch ever since then – it was lovely.”

Judy then looked back on being part of the drama for so many years, sharing: “It was like a family, and that’s what I miss terribly. We’d seen each other through marriages, births, deaths, divorce – everything. And we helped each other.

“It was lovely because it was mostly women. Sorry guys, but it was wonderful to be in a show where instead [of there being] 13 men and two women – one young one and one old one – you have a show with all these women. There was no jealousy, no rivalry or anything. It was wonderful.”

BBC viewers will be pleased to learn that they haven’t seen the last of Sister Monica Joan.

Following the latest season of Call the Midwife, the show will rewind the clock to World War II with a prequel series, titled Sisters in Arms, which will be set in Poplar during the London Blitz.

Creator and writer Heidi Thomas revealed that it will include younger incarnations of Sister Monica Joan, as well as Sister Evangelina and Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter).

The returning Sisters will also be joined by three new young midwifes, who are new to the East End.

Call the Midwife is available to watch on BBC iPlayer, while Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh is streaming on ITVX

Ella Bruccoleri shot to fame on Call the Midwife in 2018 and has recently bowled over period drama fans on The Other Bennet Sister

Ella Bruccoleri has made a surprise confession about her rise to fame as a television actress.

The 36-year-old star recently appeared as the lead in the BBC One drama The Other Bennet Sister, inspired by Jane Austen’s timeless Pride and Prejudice.

Based on the popular novel of the same name by author Janice Hadlow, The Other Bennet Sister turns the spotlight onto Mary Bennet, the seemingly unremarkable middle sister in Pride and Prejudice.

Upon its March launch, the period drama became an instant hit with viewers, with some critics branding Ella’s performance “absolutely lovely” and the show a “must-watch”.

It’s no surprise that Ella captivated viewers with her portrayal of Mary Bennet, as she is no stranger to historical dramas. In 2018, the actress rose to fame when she joined Call the Midwife as Sister Frances, a role she held for 4 years.

The popular character’s final episode in 2022 saw her playing a game with the children at the Mother House to correctly guess the name she had before becoming a nun. On her way back from her day of work, she injured her shoulder after a bike crash.

While she hasn’t been seen since Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) sent her to Chichester to recuperate, viewers did get some closure when they learned her given name is Rosemary.

Following her exit from Call the Midwife, Ella has gone on to play Miss Barragan in the third season of Netflix’s Bridgerton and appeared in all three entries of the recent Strangers horror movie trilogy.

In 2021, she starred as Anabel Dinsdale in All Creatures Great and Small and played a nun in the series The Last Kingdom.

Enjoying great success in her career, Ella has now revealed that she struggled to watch herself on-screen during her earlier acting days, including on Call the Midwife.

She told the New York Times: “The first year of seeing myself on camera, I was just miserable because I was like, ‘I don’t think that looks like me'”. But on The Other Bennet Sister, Ella was happy to retreat from vanity and relished Mary’s characteristic of an unflattering haircut and geeky glasses.

The story of an overlooked and undervalued young woman finally realising her worth resonates with her. “I relate to her a lot, and I see a lot of her in me”, she added.

Earlier this year, Ella also opened up to the Radio Times about her feelings on her earlier work on Call the Midwife, including why she quit the role:

“When I look back at my early episodes, I’m thinking, ‘Oh, that’s not good’. I learnt screen acting on the job, and it was invaluable”, she said. “It felt crazy quitting a great job but I’d started getting different offers, and I realised I love the variety of different things.”

The Other Bennet Sister and Call the Midwife are both available to stream on BBC iPlayer

As fans anticipate the Call the Midwife prequel, they can enjoy four seasons of another heartwarming drama set in the 1930s.

Call the Midwife fans are urging period drama lovers to watch a show that features an All Creatures Great and Small star.

Earlier this year, season 15 of Call the Midwife left viewers in tears when Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) passed away peacefully at Nonnatus House from chronic kidney disease.

The much-loved, who had been a part of the BBC show since its launch in 2012, declined medical intervention for her health condition, allowing the illness to take its natural course, leaving her friends devastated.

The future of Nonnatus House also remains unknown due to advances in the National Health Service. However, the drama will return with a prequel, a movie, and season 16.

While fans wait for new episodes, they can watch another popular period drama featuring some well-known actors.

The Durrells, which originally aired on ITV back in 2016, is based on the best-selling book trilogy by author Gerald Durrell, chronicling his childhood on the Greek island of Corfu in the 1930s.

Keeley Hawes plays matriarch Louisa Durrell, who relocates her family from Bournemouth to the island of Corfu after struggling financially following the untimely death of her husband a few years earlier.

Making up the Durrells are Louisa’s four children, including sons Lawrence (Josh O’Connor), Gerald (Milo Parker), Leslie (Callum Woodhouse), and her only daughter, Margo (Daisy Waterstone).

All Creatures Great and Small fans will recognise Callum Woodhouse as rule-breaking veterinarian Tristan Farnon in the period drama.

The Durrells consists of four seasons and proved a hit with critics and viewers alike, earning a BAFTA and a TV Choice Award for Best Drama Series in 2017.

Seasons two and three also still have a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, with one fan describing it as: “Full of sibling squabbles, an exasperated mother and gorgeous beach scenery. Despite the family drama, Durrells always maintains a sweet, loving tone.”

Taking to Reddit, one Call the Midwife asked: “Almost done with Call the Midwife on Netflix and it has become my newest comfort show. What else can I watch that will scratch my cosy historical itch?”

One person replied: “The Durrells or All Creatures Great and Small!”, while another echoed the sentiment and commented: “Yes! The Durells of Corfu was the first thing I thought of!”

“The Durrells is great”, added one fan as another suggested: “Agree and would add Grantchester.”

On IMDb, one fan referred to The Durrells as a “Lovely, quirky show”, while another commented: “Heart-warming but in a good way”.

“I see this as a charming, sun-baked, Mediterranean-blue inspired bit of froth. The family is suitably wacky, the scenery is stunning and the script is full of good fun. Opa!”, added another.

The Durrells is available to stream on Disney+ and all seasons of Call the Midwife are available to watch on BBC iPlayer