Midwife

The hit BBC period drama shared an emotional tribute to a beloved friend and colleague on Sunday

Call the Midwife paid a heartfelt tribute at the end of Sunday night’s (January 11) episode.

The popular period drama has made its return to BBC One for its 15th series, which follows the sisters and nurses at Nonnatus House as they navigate the NHS and Women’s Liberation Movement in 1971.

After a gripping season opener, the cherished show paused to honour a former friend and colleague who had tragically died. As the credits rolled, a poignant message flashed on screen, stating: “In memory of Nico Clarkson, a much loved friend and colleague.”

A memorial tribute was subsequently shared on social media, stating: “It is with deep sorrow and heavy hearts that family, friends and fans announce the sudden passing of Nico Clarkson. Known for his talent, kindness and engaging personality, Nico’s unexpected death has left a profound void in the lives of all who knew him,” reports the Express.

The latest series of Call the Midwife is expected to explore numerous issues and themes, including the Women’s Liberation Movement, premature birth, placenta previa, kidney cancer, tuberculosis and slavery.

The first episode saw the Nonnatus team become progressively worried about the wellbeing of four young children. Meanwhile, Sister Catherine (Molly Vevers) confronted her first solo delivery, and the midwives participated in a Women’s Liberation meeting.

Fan favourites including Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt), Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter), Shelagh Turner (Laura Main), Trixie Aylward (Helen George), Fred Buckle (Cliff Parisi), Dr Turner (Stephen McGann), Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett), Violet Buckle (Annabelle Apsion), and Miss Higgins (Georgie Glen) have all returned to screens.

The cast also features Cyril Robinson (Zephryn Taitte), Sister Veronica (Rebecca Gethings), Reggie Jackson (Daniel Laurie), Joyce Highland (Renee Bailey), Rosalind Clifford (Natalie Quarry), Timothy Turner (Max Macmillan), Angela Turner (Alice Brown), May Tang (April Rae Hoang), and Teddy Turner (Edward Shaw).

Prior to her return, Jenny Agutter, who has portrayed Sister Julienne since the show launched in 2012, candidly discussed the changing landscape of Nonnatus House and its place in Poplar.

“It all looks as if they’ll have to fall in line with the NHS and what the council want of them. One of their requests is that they not wear habits but uniforms. Well, that’s fine in itself but it’s actually a bigger question which is that Sister Julienne sees the nuns as being missionaries in the East End, serving a community,” the actress previously revealed.

“And she, as a nun, is very much aware of the fact that the first service they have is to God, a higher order than the council. The habit is very much to do with showing that they are a part of serving the community. So, it’s not just a matter of identification, it’s a matter of knowing what one’s role is and what they’re meant to be doing and feeling that one’s no longer wanted.”

She concluded: “So, it’s a conundrum because if Nonnatus House goes, then a lot of the services that are a part of it go too. But I think that she also sees that this is something coming anyway.”

Call the Midwife is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

The new series of BBC’s Call The Midwife will feature a brand new cast playing some of the much-loved characters at the ages they were when WWII broke out

The prequel of BBC One’s Call the Midwife, set at the start of World War Two and featuring younger versions of at least three of the show’s best-known characters, will launch next year on Christmas Day.

Despite the audience not knowing the actors who will play the earlier models of Jenny Agutter’s Sister Julienne, Pam Ferris’ Sister Evangeline or Judy Parfitt’s Sister Monica Joan, BBC bosses have such confidence that the show’s loyal fans will tune in, that the drama is expected to keep its prime festive slot.

Executive producer Pippa Harris, of Neal Street Productions, revealed that the prequel would kick off in the place usually reserved for Call the Midwife. Introducing the upcoming 15th series, she was asked if BBC bosses were concerned about being left with “a blank space” for 2026 and replied: “No, it will be on at Christmas.” That festive outing will be the first glimpse that viewers have of the wartime spin-off, which came about after writer Heidi Thomas had a desire to go further back in time.

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“Having wept, laughed, and raged my way from 1957 to 1971, I found myself yearning to delve into the deeper past,” she has explained. The brand new series, which does not yet have a title and will film next year, is set in 1939, nearly two decades before Jennifer Worth’s original memoirs began in 1957.

Heidi admits she needed a “temporary pause in the usual pattern” after 15 years of Call the Midwife. “I don’t think any other show has produced a series every year for that period of time,” she said. “So I think this is a lovely opportunity for us to press pause and refresh a little bit and come back with more exciting things.”

She stressed that a 16th series, picking up in 1973, would follow on TV in due course. “We’re not going anywhere,” she stressed, “Except for maybe Australia.” A movie version for cinema release, set in 1972 and featuring the regular cast, is likely to be set in Australia.

On the film, to be shot at the end of next year, Heidi said: “Australia is likely, I can say that. But there are a number of places within Australia where that could be, all of which would be very different. We won’t be making any official announcements until we know exactly .” One possibility is that Miriam Margolyes will make a welcome return as Mother Mildred, as the actress is based in Australia.

Helen George, who has played nurse Trixie Aylward since the first episode aired in 2012, said she was happy to have a year off before returning to make the movie. “The truth is no one knows who’s going to be in the film yet,” she admitted. “It has to make sense that all of these characters end up in Australia. So even though I may want to go – of course I bloody do! – it can’t be so extraordinary that it doesn’t make sense.”

She said a feature-length film would provide the “space and the time” to explore their characters further. “Australia is so beautiful, when we did the South African Christmas special it was so cinematic and the lighting is all different. This would be their missionary work potentially, because this is what the nuns would do. It makes complete sense for them to branch out into the world.”

Trixie wasn’t born in 1939, but Helen, 41, believes that expanding the Nonnatus world backwards is also a fantastic idea. “The prequel will have characters that we know so well, but we’ll be going back and seeing the start. When we first began, we’d have sets with the remnants of buildings that had been bombed in the Blitz. It’s fascinating to go even further back, and I will definitely be watching.

“The fact that the British public still want us around is amazing,” she laughed. “It’s right to change the format – we all need a new lease of life.”

In the series starting next month, it is 1971 and the midwives and nurses are getting to grips with the women’s liberation movement. In one scene, some of the Nonnatus regulars are seen burning their bras, and while she didn’t do that herself, actress Linda Bassett, who plays nurse Phyllis Crane, said she did get involved in other ways.

“I was involved in various women’s groups – it affected all our relationships, people were very enthused,” she recalled. “I was very young and we had groups where we sat in a circle and got out speculums and looked up our own vaginas, at the cervix. That was what we did! I don’t think Heidi wanted to put that in the film. It was all about being free and feeling at one with your body and not being ashamed.”

Linda, 75, said she didn’t actually burn her bra. “That was a publicity thing. People did it and I’m not knocking it but no, I didn’t.” Annabelle Apsion, who plays Poplar’s much-loved mayor and shop-owner Violent Buckle, said it had been fun to film the bra burning, with some members of the team finding it quite emotional.

“Lisa, who directed it, was crying, because she remembered all of that. A lot of young women now don’t realise how things were. It would probably be a big shock to them to hear that women didn’t get the same pay for the same job.

“It was a beautiful day and it was hilarious how the men, like Dr Turner, were saying things like ‘have you left me a casserole?’”

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