It looks as though BBC viewers will be saying farewell to one beloved character on Call the Midwife.
Sister Monica Joan has been diagnosed with chronic kidney failure(Image: BBC)
Emotions were at an all-time high on Sunday night as BBC viewers learnt the fate of Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt).
Recently, Call the Midwife viewers learnt that the beloved character had kidney failure, as Dr. Patrick Turner (Stephen McGann) noted that additional tests would provide further information.
Tragically, those results were revealed during the latest instalment of the show.
As Dr Turner, Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) and Nurse Phyllis Crane (Linda Bassett) sat down to go over the results, Dr Turner said: “I was hoping it was something that could be treated, but chronic kidney disease is just-“
Cutting in, Sister Julienne commented: “Something that takes old people gently, but kindly.”
As Dr Turner emphasised that regardless of the matter, the disease still ‘takes’ people, Nurse Phyllis questioned how long Sister Monica Joan had been ill with the disease.
He replied: “I suspect not long.”
When asked how long she has left to live, he confessed: “The same, unless we can persuade her to accept what treatment there is, she’ll progress to end-stage renal failure fairly quickly.”
Although all seemed heartbroken by the severity of her illness, nurse Phyllis replied: “Till that day comes, we’ll just have to love her as we always have, but a bit more carefully.”
It wasn’t long before people took to X to share their thoughts on the imminent death of Sister Monica Joan as one person said: “Are they actually going to kill of sister Monica Joan? Just end Call The Midwife there!”
Someone else commented: “No, Sister Monica Joan is immortal…she can’t die.” While another added: “SISTER MONICA JOAN. Sobbing.”
Another viewer wrote: “Absolutely devastated hearing the news that Sister Monica Joan has kidney failure and may not have long left, if we lose her, it will be like losing a much-loved family member. I’d be completely heartbroken.”
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One person shared: “Don’t you dare let anything happen to Sister Monica Joan.” While another said: “#callthemidwife Oh no, surely it can’t be the demise,of Sister Monica Joan? On the other hand could it be the end on Nonnatus? What a fantastic drama this is @CallTheMidwife1 #SundayMood.”
Sister Monica Joan has been part of the beloved period drama since it began back in 2012. However, as the show marks its 15th series, it’s been reported that the final will see birth, a wedding and a funeral.
Call the Midwife continues Sundays on BBC One from 8pm
Emmerdale actor Dominic Brunt has addressed his character Paddy Dingle’s turmoil, as he covers up his father Bear Wolf’s killer crime after he murdered Ray Walters
07:15, 03 Feb 2026Updated 07:20, 03 Feb 2026
Emmerdale fans are used to seeing Paddy Dingle at the centre of comedic mishaps, but his latest plot sees him covering up a murder(Image: ITV)
Emmerdale fans are used to seeing Paddy Dingle at the centre of comedic mishaps and the more heartfelt moments, but his latest plot sees him covering up a brutal murder.
For the first time in his 29 years on the soap, Paddy, played by actor Dominic Brunt, could face prison as the truth unravels. A recent flashback episode saw Paddy’s father Bear Wolf [Joshua Richards] confirmed as villain Ray Walters’ killer, with Paddy now determined to stop anyone from finding out.
Next week, Paddy realises his dad needs professional help as Bear continues to spiral. With teenager Dylan Penders, also covering up the crime, feeling the strain and ready to crack, Paddy’s left picking up the pieces to prevent the police from learning what really happened to Ray. Dominic, 55, is delighted about the killer twist though, as he teases his future in the village.
He says: “It’s such a good story. Paddy’s juggling everything at the moment, trying to keep everybody out of being done for murder and keeping the story straight. But it keeps unravelling and he keeps pulling all the strings back in, going: ‘Oh my God, we’ve got to stick to the story’.”
While it could lead to an exit for Bear if his crime is discovered, Dominic says Paddy isn’t worried about his own fate. He explains: “He fears that his dad will go away again. He thought he was dead and he’s back. And now Bear might go down for murder. Paddy is trying to save his dad, and save the fact that Dylan would be implicated in it as well, because we all hid the body.”
Bear vanished from the village in July last year, claiming he was visiting a friend in Ireland as he secretly battled depression. By the time Paddy realised his father was missing, Bear had already been manipulated by villain Ray and his evil mum Celia Daniels, in the soap’s heartbreaking modern slavery storyline.
Bear was kept at their farm for months until he fled at the end of December, while viewers, and village residents, were led to believe Celia had killed him. His sudden return earlier this month saw him accidentally killing Ray to save his son, and Dominic says Paddy will go to any lengths necessary to protect him in return.
He tells us: “Bear’s not ready to go to the police. He keeps going: ‘Should I go to the police? Should I just come clean? Should I tell them the truth?’ His dad is all over the place, he’s very sick, withdrawing from whatever drugs he was given and he’s completely unstable.
“So Paddy is trying to hide him away for now and then maybe in the near future they’ll just say to the police: ‘Alright, there he is, come and get him, we did it’. But at the moment he’s just trying to save his dad from more psychological pain after what he’s just been through with Ray and Celia.”
Dominic did reveal that other characters will soon uncover the truth, including his best friend Marlon Dingle, played by Mark Charnock. Marlon has also been caught up in Ray and Celia’s dark world after they exploited his teenage daughter April Windsor [Amelia Flanagan] into selling drugs, alongside her boyfriend Dylan.
When Marlon vowed to go to the police he was ignored, leading to sinister threats and payment demands by Ray. Dominic says the close friends will open up to each other about what they’ve been hiding, while Paddy is also set to confide in his wife Mandy Dingle [Lisa Riley].
Dominic says: “He definitely confides in Mandy. I think there’s an episode coming up with me and Mark, just a two-hander, where we spill the beans to each other and we become bonded again, which is lovely because they’ve got a three-decade-long friendship.”
Paddy has been at the heart of some huge storylines since his debut in 1997, including his five weddings, and the devastating loss of his baby daughter Grace after she was diagnosed with Bilateral Renal Agenesis, a rare life-limiting congenital condition.
Paddy also suffered depression and suicidal thoughts in a wideley-praised storyline in 2023, with Dominic keen to revisit Paddy’s mental health as he struggles through his latest turmoil. While the future looks bleak for Bear, Dominic says Paddy is confident that the father and son, and Dylan, will find a way to make it through their traumatic start to the new year.
He shares: “I think he truly believes that they’ll get through this, it’ll go away and nobody will be blamed and it’ll just become a village secret. But soaps being soaps, there’s got to be a moral outcome. His worst fear is that it all unravels and of course I think it does.”
