Call The Midwife, the hit period drama about a group of nurse midwives working in London’s East End, has captured audiences’ hearts for more than a decade.
Set between the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the series by Heidi Thomas is inspired by Jennifer Worth’s Call The Midwife trilogy.
This festive season, the nuns and midwives of Nonnatus House return with a two-part Christmas special set in both Hong Kong and Poplar.
The special will be followed by series 15, featuring eight new hour-long episodes airing from January 2026.
When senior members of the Nonnatus staff travel to Hong Kong on a mercy mission, the younger midwives are left to cope on their own.
As the story moves between the sun-drenched Far East and a snowy East End, Sister Julienne, played by Jenny Agutter, finds herself unexpectedly energised about the Order’s future.
The festive special features regular cast members, including Laura Main as Shelagh Turner, Helen George as Trixie Aylward, Stephen McGann as Dr Turner and Annabelle Apsion as Violet Buckle.
Call the Midwife cast reveal all ahead of new Christmas special
Agutter, 72, says the Christmas special features a “great deal of displacement”.
“When I read it, it certainly struck me, because the scripts reveal this extraordinary division of worlds. It begins with the sense that the mission, the ground itself, has slipped away, and that feeling of the ground disappearing sits underneath everything,” explains the BAFTA-award winning actress.
“Even in Nonnatus House, people feel out of place. There’s a great deal of displacement, of everyone trying to find their way through it all.”
Main, 48, who has been part of the series since its debut in 2012, says this year’s Christmas special feels like entirely new territory.
“It’s completely new territory. You’ve got the cast in Hong Kong, but at the same time, half the storyline is set in Poplar,” explains the Scottish actress.
“And because certain characters aren’t there, what happens in Poplar feels completely new and different. So you still get your Poplar Christmas but it’s unlike anything you’ve seen before.”
Series writer Thomas, 63, says as the festive special was two episodes she wanted a diverse landscape.
“The two-parter was sprung on us last year as a new idea, and this year was only our second time doing it,” she explains.
“I thought, well, what we really need is a diverse landscape.
“I wanted to enrich the physical environment, but I also wanted to explore what happens when we separate the characters.”
Thomas adds: “One of the things we all love about working on the show and what I love about writing it is that it’s so multi-generational.
“We have young women and older women functioning as close friends and mentors to each other. So I thought, why not divide them?”
Thomas also hints at some mischief at Nonnatus House while the nuns are away.
“I very much wanted that ‘while the cat’s away, the mice will play’ vibe,” she smiles.
“We’ve never had a proper Seventies party in Nonnatus House, with alcohol, and nurse Rosalind not coming home, so it felt like the perfect opportunity.”
McGann, who was part of the cast who travelled to Hong Kong, says they filmed in summer during sweltering conditions.
“It was mad, summer mad out there,” he laughs.
“We thought, “Great, we’ll go work with the Hong Kong crew. They’ll know exactly how to handle this; it’ll be second nature to them.” But when we arrived, some of the Hong Kong team looked at us and asked, “Why are you filming now? It’s mad, the conditions are awful.”
“But to us, it was wonderful.”
He adds: “What I love about this one is the balance between both places. And honestly, once I read the script, I knew that some of you seeing Christmas unfold alongside events back home, while we were away in Hong Kong, would have found it absolutely brilliant. What I loved was the dynamic: with the “cat” away, all the “mice” were free to play. It was delightful.
“Over the years we’ve had circus Christmases, Scottish Christmases, South African Christmases and lots of Poplar ones and this time, it’s both. Christmas episodes are always a privilege.”
Apsion, 65, whose character Violet is married to Fred Buckle, played by Cliff Parisi, says she loves the warmth of the Christmas specials.
“I just love being married to Father Christmas, and I’m longing to be Mrs. Christmas,” she laughs, referring to Fred’s role as Santa Claus.
“I think there’s something wonderfully warm about it all. I don’t really enjoy the commercial side of Christmas, but what I love is the idea of everyone dropping everything to come together and truly appreciate being with one another.
“I think that feeling comes through in every episode. It’s about showing the heart of connection, valuing it, and celebrating it. And of course, we have lots of snow, which is always lovely.”
The Call The Midwife two-part festive special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.
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