Christmas

Call The Midwife bosses will replace the much loved festive episode with a prequel show of the historical BBC drama series as it attempts a ‘temporary pause’

Call The Midwife bosses have decided to shake up the Christmas schedule by removing the much loved historical drama from the winter TV schedule. Now, viewers will be treated to a prequel episode titled Sisters In Arms which is said to be replacing the coveted prime time slot.

The prequel is set in the period of World War II and it seems it will feature the younger versions of the older characters, who have become fan favourites. The characters may include Fred Buckle, Dr Turner, Sister Julienne, Sister Evangelina and Sister Monica Joan.

It has been speculated that the prequel could also focus on Nurse Trixie Franklin’s story, who is played by the highly acclaimed actress Helen George. In the upcoming show, Helen George’s character will be played another actress reportedly in her teens or early twenties.

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The show creator and writer Heidi Thomas confirmed plans of the shake-up, according to The Sun. She previously said: “No, there won’t be a Christmas special this Christmas, not in the traditional mould.” She added: “This is really just a very temporary pause in the usual pattern.”

Showrunner Heidi previously explained: “The opening of new doors at Nonnatus House feels profoundly emotional, and yet just right. I have never run out of stories for our midwives, and I never will.”

She added: “But having wept, laughed, and raged my way from 1957 to 1971, I found myself yearning to delve into the deeper past. The Blitz years in the East End were extraordinary – filled with loss, togetherness, courage and joy.”

Heidi continued: “The bombs fell, the babies kept on coming, and the Sisters kept on going. There will be so much in the prequel for our wonderful, loyal fans, including the appearance of some familiar (if much younger!) faces.

Series 15 of the show took viewers on an emotional journey as Sister Monica Joan died. The character was played by Judy Parfitt since the show first aired in 2012. The plot follows the lives of a group of nurses and midwives in East London, who made it their mission to care for the people of the East End.

Not only is there a prequel to be aired later this year but the hit show will also become a film, set overseas in 1972. However, a release date for the movie has not yet been confirmed.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Heidi said the film is about “strong women above all else.” She then admitted: “Everything changes and nothing changes,” she observed, recognising its connections to the most recent series.”

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Christmas is still quite some way away, but one attraction is already putting tickets on sale for its magical experiences, and if previous years are anything to go by it could sell out quickly

It doesn’t feel that long since the Christmas decorations were packed away, but one festive attraction is already putting its tickets on sale today (March 27) for the Christmas 2026 season.

Tickets for LaplandUK, which has locations in Ascot and Cheshire, will go on sale tomorrow at 10AM with over a million people expected to join the queue. The experience is often likened to booking Glastonbury tickets, as hopeful parents will need to wait in a virtual queue and have ten minutes to complete their order once they reach the front.

Ticket prices for 2026 have been confirmed, starting at £60 for midweek dates in November, up to £155 per person for peak weekends in December. Both venues will also host a ‘Superstar Day’ on November 25 which is “adapted for families and guests with access requirements to create a quieter, more relaxed and accessible environment.”

While the tickets are costly, the cost does include a range of experiences that set it apart from the average Santa’s grotto. Families receive a special gift boxed invitation ahead of their day out to build the excitement, and this message from Father Christmas personally invites little ones to visit LaplandUK to help the elves with toy-making.

On arrival, visitors step into a magical world, walking through several different interactive experiences from the Elven Bazaar, where guests have to work out how to enter the door to Lapland, to the Lapland Bakery where kids can help make some Christmas treats before enjoying storytime with Mother Christmas.

The experience lasts around four-and-a-half hours, according to the LaplandUK website, and also includes ice skating, a soft toy for every child, a small toy to give to kids on Christmas Day, and of course, a special visit with the man in red himself, deep in a snowy forest.

Husband-and-wife founders of LaplandUK, Mike and Alison Battle, took to Facebook to update fans of the attraction about changes that are being made for 2026. Alison said: “Every year, we challenge ourselves to make the experience more special, more magical, more believable. And this year, we’ve got some very exciting things in store for you.”

The pair announced that invites would be sent earlier this year, towards the end of the summer, to build anticipation of the event. They added that the return experience will be upgraded, so that “coming home will be just as magical”, and that visitors to Little Rudy’s Stables will now be able to make reindeer food to take home with them.

One of the major changes will be in the Elven Village, which the pair said has expanded over the years to be more immersive and include more characters. Guests will now get more time in the village to listen to stories at Fable’s Library, skate on the ice rink, and meet characters along the way.

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Those hoping to grab tickets for LaplandUK can either register on the official site to get a ticket booking link ahead of the sale, or visit the website from 9am to join the queue.

LaplandUK’s Facebook page confirmed that both sites will have their own booking queues accessed through a unique link. It said: “Upon entering a queue, you will be randomly assigned a place before bookings open. When the queue begins moving at 10 AM, you’ll gradually make your way forward.

“Once you reach the front, you will have 10 minutes to complete your booking for your chosen location.. We truly cannot wait to welcome you to Lapland to make treasured memories together this Christmas.”

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IT ISN’T even summer yet but we wouldn’t blame you if you are already excited about Christmas – and there’s good reason to be with some changes coming to LaplandUK.

LaplandUK – the huge family-friendly Christmas attraction – will be dropping tickets for both the Ascot and Manchester experiences this week,

Ahead of the drop on March 27 (this Friday) at 10am, the attraction has also revealed some big changes to the experience this year.

One of the biggest changes is that guests will get more time in the Elven Village.

This means guests will have more time to go ice skating, letter writing and enjoying the magical atmosphere of the Elven World.

Whilst LaplandUK hasn’t yet confirmed how long visitors will now have in the Elven Village, in previous years visitors had 90 minutes to enjoy the area.

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Another change for this year is that every child will now have the opportunity – included in their ticket – to create their own reindeer food with the Elves, ready to lay out on Christmas Eve for Father Christmas’ reindeer.

There is also a new invitation box this year, meaning that anyone who books a LaplandUK experience for 2026 will receive their invitations by the end of summer.

Returning this year will also be Mother Christmas’s Kitchen where kids will get more time to decorate gingerbread before meeting with Mother Christmas and the Elves for traditional story time.

LaplandUK is also bringing back the portal that takes humans ‘back to the UK’, but making it bigger for this year.

This year, LaplandUK will run from November 7 to December 24, with tickets costing between £60 and £195.

Last year, 350,000 tickets were available and before the tickets were released, over 750,000 people were waiting in the virtual queue online.

On March 27, when tickets go on sale, there will be a virtual queue online from 9am.

Guests will need to select their preferred venue – either Ascot or Manchester, – and then at 10am when tickets are released, each guest will automatically be allocated a random place in the queue for the venue they selected.

Once they reach position one in the queue, they will be able to select the number of tickets they want and the date they wish to visit.

After purchasing their tickets, in the following months guests will be sent a personalised invitation.

On the day of visiting, guests will venture through “secret portals in the Whispering Woods of the UK and follow magical pathways to arrive in Lapland”.

And throughout the day there will be performances and interactive activities such as helping out the Elves in the Toy Factory to make a toy to pop in Father Christmas’ Sleigh.

Kids will get a special moment with Santa as well, where they get a gift to take home and their parents are handed the toy they created in the Lapland Toy Factory to be given on Christmas Day.

To find out what it is like to visit LaplandUK, one Sun reporter visited the new experience in Manchester last year.

Plus, a mum has shared her top Lapland UK tips, including how to save money and the best areas to go to.

IT MIGHT be super early to start thinking about Christmas but it is that time of year again where LaplandUK tickets drop soon.

LaplandUK has announced that tickets to its sought-after festive experience will be released later this month on March 27 at 10am.

The high-demand tickets usually sell out within a few hours after launch and this year is expected to be the same with the newer £30million Manchester LaplandUK experience running for its second time.

Similar to the rush for Glastonbury but for Christmas, LaplandUK is predicting that over one million people want to get tickets.

Last year, 350,000 tickets were available and before the tickets were released, over 750,000 people were waiting in the virtual queue online.

This year, LaplandUK will run from November 7 to December 24, with tickets costing between £60 and £195.

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On March 27, guests will be able to enter the virtual waiting room at 9am, via LaplandUK’s ticketing platform.

Each guest will then need to select their preferred venue – Ascot or Manchester.

At 10am, when tickets are released, each guest will be allocated a random place in the queue for the venue they have selected.

Once they reach position one in the queue, they will be able to select the number of tickets they want and the date they wish to visit.

Kerrie Thomas, 47, from South Wales said: “This year will be our 25th visit.

“The adrenaline of getting tickets to LaplandUK is literally like trying to get tickets to Glastonbury or Adele.

“We have everything ready before the sale opens, and get friends and family involved too.

“It really is worth it to see my daughter’s face when she steps into LaplandUK, it is just so magical.

“It has become an unmissable Christmas tradition in our household.”

Once guests purchase their tickets, they will be sent a personalised invitation.

Then, when it comes to the day of visiting, families will get to explore a snow-filled world with Elves, a frozen pond for skating and a Toy Factory.

Around the experience there will also be smells of the Lapland Bakery and the glistening of twinkling lights.

When guests arrive they will venture through “secret portals in the Whispering Woods of the UK and follow magical pathways to arrive in Lapland”.

The experience also includes performances and interactive activities such as helping out the Elves in the Toy Factory to make a toy to pop in Father Christmas’ Sleigh.

And of course, each child gets a special moment with Santa himself, who will give them a gift to take home and another surprise for Christmas Day – the specific toy they created in the Lapland Toy Factory.

To find out what it is like to visit LaplandUK, one Sun reporter visited the new experience in Manchester last year.

Plus, a mum has shared her top Lapland UK tips, including how to save money and the best areas to go to.

Jennifer Runyon, a film and television actor known best for her roles on “Ghostbusters,” “A Very Brady Christmas” and “Charles in Charge,” has died. She was 65.

Runyon died Friday, according to a Sunday statement reportedly posted to her social media account, which has since gone private.

“This past Friday, our beloved Jennifer passed away. It was a long and arduous journey that ended with her surrounded by her family,” the statement read, according to ABC7. “She will always be remembered for her love of life and her devotion to her family and friends. Rest in peace our Jenn.”

“Bewitched” actor Erin Murphy shared in a Sunday post on Facebook and Instagram that Runyon died “after a brief battle with cancer.”

“Some people you just know you’ll be friends with before you even meet,” Murphy wrote in her tribute. “She was a special lady.”

On the 1980s sitcom “Charles in Charge,” Runyon portrayed Gwendolyn Pierce, a fellow college student of the show’s titular live-in housekeeper (portrayed by Scott Baio) and the target of his affections.

In his Facebook tribute, fellow “Charles in Charge” actor Willie Aames described Runyon as a “dear dear friend, muse, and encourager.”

“From the moment we met on set all those decades ago- I knew you ‘got me,’” wrote Aames. “Watching you slip away these last few months was one of the hardest times of my life… I can still hear your voice so clearly. No one will ever be able to fill the massive hole that’s been left in our hearts… ever.”

A Chicago native, Runyon made her television debut as Sally Frame in the long-running soap opera “Another World.” She also appeared in episodes of “Magnum, P.I.,” “Quantum Leap” and “Murder, She Wrote.” Runyon also portrayed the grown-up Cindy Brady in “A Very Brady Christmas.”

Her film credits include the 1984 classic “Ghostbusters,” where she appeared as one of the students participating in the ESP study conducted by Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman.

On Instagram, Runyon’s daughter Bayley Corman, an actor who has appeared on TV shows such as “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” “Bel-Air” and “Running Point,” described her mother as “the kindest most compassionate person i’ve ever known.”

“All of the best parts of me came from you,” Corman wrote in her tribute. “i would give anything for one more day together.”

The BBC show about midwives at Nonnatus House is taking a break after its latest series

Call The Midwife will not be back for a Christmas special this year.

The much-loved BBC period drama about midwives working in the East End is currently in its 15th series, but that is set to end on March 8 and show creator Heidi Thomas has previously confirmed the programme is then taking a break.

While it is due to return for a 16th run in the future, that will not be in January as usual, with the series on hiatus.

It has also been confirmed that its usual festive special – which is a usually a highlight of the Christmas TV schedule for viewers – will not air this December.

“We have made 15 series in 15 years – I’ve known for a couple of years that that situation won’t go on for ever,” Heidi told Radio Times.

“The sets need repair. The nuns’ habits are worn out. It takes 14 months to make every series.”

The show creator said that for two months of each year she and producer Annie Tricklebank work on two series at the same time and that the workload is “immense” and can only be sustained for “so long”.

During the Call The Midwife interlude, audiences will be treated to a wartime prequel series instead.

It commences on Christmas Day and will showcase 1940s incarnations of Sister Monica Joan, Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter), and the late Sister Evangeline, who was previously portrayed by Pam Ferris.

A film featuring the regular cast set in the Commonwealth, probably Australia, in the year 1972 is also in the pipeline.

So far it isn’t known when the 16th series of the show will air.

But Heidi told Radio Times that it will return “slightly recalibrated”. “Changes will have taken place, but the change itself is not destructive,” she said. “It’s nourishing.”

Call The Midwife – which stars Helen George as Nurse Trixie Franklin – started in 2012 and has aired 15 series set between the 1950s and 1970s, as well as several festive specials.

The current series about the midwives of Nonnatus House started in January and is set in 1971.

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Call The Midwife airs at 8pm on BBC One on Sunday March 8