prequel

Dr. Patrick Turner hasn’t had an easy life and his harrowing backstory should be explored on-screen

Call the Midwife needs to revisit the heartbreaking past of Dr. Patrick Turner in the anticipated new prequel.

The BBC period drama launched in 2012 and is based on the memoirs of legendary nurse and midwife Jennifer Worth.

The plot was originally set in 1957, when the National Health Service was a fairly new concept, with the latest episodes covering the early 1970s.

However, a new series will rewind the clock back to World War II and feature younger versions of beloved characters Sisters Julienne, Monica Joan, and Evangelina, originally portrayed by Jenny Agutter, Judy Parfitt, and Pam Ferris, during the London Blitz.

The three-part mini-series, called Sisters In Arms, is expected to take pride of place during the forthcoming Christmas period.

Fans will no doubt hope Dr. Turner’s character is explored in the prequel, given his previous hints of a troubled past.

The much-loved family man has been a staple of the drama since its launch, and viewers have been gripped by his professional and personal life.

Fans will remember the touching moment when Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann) found love with former nun, Shelagh Mannion (Laura Main), with the couple now raising four children together in their cosy home.

However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Dr. Turner, as it was revealed that he suffered a severe mental breakdown in 1945. The horrors of World War II became too much to bear for the doctor, requiring a five-month stay in a psychiatric hospital.

During series three of the BBC show, Dr. Turner and Shelagh attended an in-depth adoption meeting where he was asked about his career break from April to December 1945.

“I was injured”, Dr. Turner protests before declining to comment further on the reason why he was discharged from the army.

He sternly added, “You must understand. It was the end of the war. I was medical Corps, trying to save lives at the front.”

It was then confirmed that Dr. Turner had been an inpatient at Northfield Military Psychiatric Hospital for five months, where he was treated for war neurosis, now known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), leaving Shelagh shocked.

“I was worn out. There was too much death. I recovered. I’m recovered”, he bravely confirmed as heartache wiped across his face.

As he failed to tell the finer details of his agonising experience, the Call the Midwife prequel should explore the trials and tribulations of Dr’Turner’s life during World War II.

The former armyman has an extraordinary medical knowledge, but how did he cope with the war? What was Dr. Turner’s experience of a psychiatric ward during the 1940s, at a time when treatment consisted of electroconvulsive shock therapy?

We are so invested in the character that we need to see how his historic experience during the conflict shaped his commitment to being a doctor, serving the gritty community in Poplar and becoming a much-loved character.

Call the Midwife is available to stream on BBC iPlayer