List of Call the Midwife episodes

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Three nurses on the top half of the cover; screenshots of the series on the bottom half
The cover of the DVD box set comprising the first nine series

Call the Midwife is a British period drama television series based on the best-selling memoirs of former nurse Jennifer Worth, who died shortly before the first episode was broadcast.[1] It is set in the late 1950s and early to mid-1960s and for the first three series centred primarily on Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine), based on the real Worth. In the first episode, set in 1957, she begins a new job as a midwife at a nursing convent in the deprived Poplar district of east London. The programme's ensemble cast has also included Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris, Judy Parfitt, Laura Main, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Hannah, Charlotte Ritchie and Emerald Fennell. Vanessa Redgrave delivers framing voiceovers in the role of "mature Jenny",[2] and continues to do so even after the younger version of the character was written out of the series.

The idea of adapting Worth's books for television was initially dismissed by the BBC,[1] but revived after Danny Cohen took over the post of Controller of BBC One. A full series was commissioned in 2011[3] and writer Heidi Thomas adapted Worth's books for the screen.[4] The first episode was broadcast on 15 January 2012 and the initial series of six episodes drew positive reviews and large viewing figures, said by the BBC to be the highest audiences achieved by a new drama series on BBC One since the corporation's current method of measuring audiences began in 2001.[5] Following the second episode, the BBC announced that a second series, expanded from six to eight episodes, had been commissioned.[6] In September 2012 the programme won the Best New Drama award and Hart was named Best Actress at the TV Choice Awards.[7]

The second series began on 20 January 2013, and during the run BBC Controller for Drama Ben Stephenson announced that he had commissioned a third series to be broadcast in 2014,[8] despite the fact that all the original source material had been exhausted by the end of the second series.[1] The series has also achieved success outside the UK. In the United States, the first series' transmission on PBS in the autumn of 2012 drew an average audience of three million viewers. This figure was 50% higher than the network's overall primetime average audience for the 2011–12 television season.[9]

In March 2019, the BBC announced it had commissioned two further series and Christmas specials, through to an eleventh series in 2022, moving the plot from the mid into the late 1960s.[10][11] In April 2021, the BBC announced that series 12 and 13 had been commissioned, keeping the show on air until 2024.[12] As of 30 May 2021, 86 episodes of Call the Midwife have aired, concluding the tenth series.

Series overview[]

SeriesEpisodesOriginally airedAve. UK viewers
(millions)
First airedLast aired
1615 January 2012 (2012-01-15)19 February 2012 (2012-02-19)10.61
28 (+1)25 December 2012 (special)
20 January 2013 (2013-01-20)
10 March 2013 (2013-03-10)10.47
38 (+1)25 December 2013 (special)
19 January 2014 (2014-01-19)
9 March 2014 (2014-03-09)10.54
48 (+1)25 December 2014 (special)
18 January 2015 (2015-01-18)
8 March 2015 (2015-03-08)10.41
58 (+1)25 December 2015 (special)
17 January 2016 (2016-01-17)
6 March 2016 (2016-03-06)9.95
68 (+1)25 December 2016 (special)
22 January 2017 (2017-01-22)
12 March 2017 (2017-03-12)10.33
78 (+1)25 December 2017 (special)
21 January 2018 (2018-01-21)
11 March 2018 (2018-03-11)9.26
88 (+1)25 December 2018 (special)
13 January 2019 (2019-01-13)
3 March 2019 (2019-03-03)9.04
98 (+1)25 December 2019 (special)
5 January 2020 (2020-01-05)
23 February 2020 (2020-02-23)8.34
107 (+1)25 December 2020 (special)
18 April 2021 (2021-04-18)
30 May 2021 (2021-05-30)8.14

Episodes[]

Series 1 (2012)[]

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [13]
1Episode 1Philippa LowthorpeHeidi Thomas15 January 2012 (2012-01-15)9.83
In 1957, Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine) arrives for her new job at Nonnatus House, a nursing convent in the Poplar district of London. The convent is home to a small order of nuns consisting of Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter), Sister Evangelina (Pam Ferris), Sister Bernadette (Laura Main), and Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt). Two other midwives, Beatrix "Trixie" Franklin (Helen George) and Cynthia Miller (Bryony Hannah), already work at the convent, as does handyman Frederick "Fred" Buckle (Cliff Parisi). Jenny also meets local physician Dr Patrick Turner (Stephen McGann). After some initial difficulties fitting in, Jenny's first assigned expectant mother is Conchita Warren, a Spanish woman who does not understand English and already has a huge family. Conchita suffers a concussion in a fall, which also triggers premature labour, making Jenny's first delivery a traumatic and difficult one which she must handle alone.
2Episode 2Philippa LowthorpeHeidi Thomas22 January 2012 (2012-01-22)10.47
New midwife Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne, nicknamed Chummy (Miranda Hart), arrives at the convent to begin work. She hails from an upper-class background and aspires to become a Christian missionary, but finds getting to grips with her new job difficult and Sister Evangelina a harsh critic. While struggling to learn to ride a bicycle (which the midwives use to make their rounds), she encounters local policeman Peter Noakes (Ben Caplan). Meanwhile, Jenny befriends Mary, a pregnant teenaged girl from Ireland, who was forced into prostitution upon her arrival in London but wants to try to make a better life for herself and her child. Ultimately, reflecting the morals of the era, Mary's baby is removed from her after the birth.
3Episode 3Philippa LowthorpeJack Williams29 January 2012 (2012-01-29)10.66
While undertaking district nursing work, Jenny befriends Joe, (Roy Hudd) an elderly former soldier who now lives alone in a run-down, roach-infested flat, in a tenement block which has been condemned. Jenny attempts to revive his spirits by helping him attend an upcoming reunion of his old regiment. Meanwhile, Trixie and Cynthia deal with the case of a woman in her forties who is upset at having become pregnant comparatively late in life, even though her husband is delighted at the prospect. It is later revealed that her reluctance to give birth is because she knows that the child will be dark-skinned, the result of a brief affair. When the child is born, her husband adores the baby nevertheless.
4Episode 4Jamie PayneEsther Wilson5 February 2012 (2012-02-05)10.89
Jenny delivers a baby girl to Shirley Redmond, but soon afterwards the newborn disappears from her pram, leading to a tense and widespread search. Following a hunch, Jenny discovers the child was snatched by Mary, the Irish girl whom she had befriended previously and who was left traumatised by having her own child taken from her. At Jenny's request, the nuns of Nonnatus House petition the police not to prosecute the young runaway. Meanwhile, Cynthia deals with the case of a middle-aged headmaster and his young wife who are expecting their first child, but the couple are devastated when the wife is afflicted by eclampsia.
5Episode 5Jamie PayneHarriet Warner12 February 2012 (2012-02-12)10.42
The nuns and midwives come to the assistance of their cleaner, Peggy, whose brother has been diagnosed with cancer. While caring for him, Jenny learns about how the siblings grew up together in a harsh workhouse and how they developed an incestuous relationship which has persisted ever since. Meanwhile, Fred has acquired a pig and plans to make money by selling its bacon, but he soon discovers the pig is pregnant and can no longer bring himself to raise it for food. He enlists the help of the midwives, who for once must assist in the birth of animals rather than humans.
6Episode 6Jamie PayneHeidi Thomas19 February 2012 (2012-02-19)11.41
Sister Monica Joan, whose mental health has long been a concern, contracts pneumonia after roaming the streets at night in a state of emotional distress and is subsequently arrested for theft and put on trial. Meanwhile, Chummy's mother visits her to pass judgement on PC Noakes, whom the midwife is courting, but the aristocratic but now impoverished Lady Browne clearly does not approve of her daughter's relationship with a working-class man. Desperate to please her mother, Chummy decides that the only course of action is to end her relationship with the policeman. The other midwives convince her to change her mind, and the episode concludes with the couple's wedding.

Series 2 (2013)[]

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [13]
Special
7Christmas specialPhilippa LowthorpeHeidi Thomas25 December 2012 (2012-12-25)10.18
As it is Nurse Lee's first Christmas in Poplar, she is put in charge of caring for the destitute Mrs Jenkins alongside one of the sisters. Mrs Jenkins mistakes Jenny for her daughter Rosie, whom she lost when admitted to the workhouse. Chummy is busy preparing for the nativity play, which will be performed for the Mayor of Poplar, and all hands are needed to produce the ever growing number of costumes and props needed for the play. Meanwhile, a young teenage girl who helps her mother with her brothers is also secretly pregnant, and when a baby is left at the convent's front door, the infant's mother must be found.
Series
8Episode 1Philippa LowthorpeHeidi Thomas20 January 2013 (2013-01-20)10.79
It is now 1958. Jenny is assigned a new patient, Molly Brignall, who has an abusive husband, and Jenny must handle the case very carefully. Trixie and Sister Evangelina are called to a foreign cargo ship docked in London and discover that the captain's daughter is about to have a baby after her father has brought her along and allowed various members of the crew to have sex with her as a way of relieving the tensions of the long periods spent at sea.
9Episode 2Roger GoldbyHarriet Warner27 January 2013 (2013-01-27)10.24
A baby delivered by Cynthia dies in mysterious circumstances soon afterwards. The police become involved, and other pregnant women refuse to allow the shy young midwife to attend them, bringing Cynthia to the verge of a breakdown. Chummy's decision to apply to undertake missionary work in Africa leads her to question her priorities. Meanwhile, a chance encounter returns former boyfriend Jimmy to Jenny's life, but she is surprised to find that he has a pregnant girlfriend.
10Episode 3Roger GoldbyHeidi Thomas & John Martin Johnson3 February 2013 (2013-02-03)10.85
Jenny is reluctantly seconded to the London Hospital and finds herself working on the male surgical ward under a stern surgeon with whom she finds herself clashing. In the absence of Jenny and Chummy, a new orderly, the shy and withdrawn Jane Sutton (Dorothy Atkinson), fills in at Nonnatus House. The staff deal with a formidable pair of twins who share a husband; one of them is now pregnant and the other refuses to allow her to be treated by the midwives. Jenny once again crosses paths with Jimmy, who has been hospitalised, and she helps to save his life when the surgeon misdiagnoses him.
11Episode 4Roger GoldbyMark Catley10 February 2013 (2013-02-10)10.42
Back in Poplar, Jenny assists at the birth of a baby boy who is born with spina bifida. His parents cannot come to terms with their son's condition, which also affects Jenny. Meanwhile, the mousy Jane undergoes a somewhat hesitant romance with the Reverend Thornton Applebee-Thornton, an Anglican priest staying at Nonnatus House.
12Episode 5China Moo-YoungHeidi Thomas17 February 2013 (2013-02-17)10.15
Sister Bernadette suffers a crisis as she struggles to come to terms with her burgeoning romantic feelings for Dr Turner. Preparations are underway for the annual summer fete and Trixie volunteers to enlist a celebrity judge for the baby show, but when she secures the services of a top television star, he turns out to have a darker side when he tries to force himself on her. Jenny meets an expectant mother who already has eight children and does not believe she will be able to cope with another. After Jenny's attempts to reassure her fail, she undergoes an illegal abortion which leaves her fighting for her life.
13Episode 6China Moo-YoungJess Williams24 February 2013 (2013-02-24)10.26
Fearing an epidemic of tuberculosis, Dr Turner arranges for a mass X-ray programme to come to Poplar. When Sister Bernadette undergoes a chest X-ray to encourage a reluctant girl, she is devastated to discover that she has the illness. Jenny encounters a dying pub owner who lost almost his entire family to tuberculosis, and must try to reconcile him with his only surviving child.
14Episode 7Minkie SpiroHarriet Warner3 March 2013 (2013-03-03)10.68
Chummy and Peter return to Poplar, revealing the surprise that she is pregnant. Sister Evangelina and Fred try out a new scooter. Jenny tends to a Jamaican immigrant who struggles to deal with racial abuse from her neighbours even as she goes into labour, while Cynthia deals with a diabetic pub owner who bullies his wife. Sister Bernadette comes to a decision about her feelings for Dr Turner.
15Episode 8Minkie SpiroHeidi Thomas10 March 2013 (2013-03-10)10.38
As Chummy and Peter prepare to become parents, Fred has a visit from his daughter Dolly, who also has a baby on the way. Sister Bernadette's health crisis has passed and she will soon be free to leave the sanatorium, but she must now decide whether to return to Nonnatus House or leave the order. Jimmy reappears, accompanied by his handsome colleague Alec, having been tasked by the council to survey the buildings in the area. Alec seems keen on Jenny, and an evening out to a jazz club sees romance blossom. Chummy goes into labour and gives birth to a son whom she names Fred. Sister Bernadette resigns as a nun, and she and Dr Turner become engaged. But there is bad news for the midwives as Nonnatus House is earmarked for demolition.

Series 3 (2014)[]

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [13]
Special
16Christmas specialThea SharrockHeidi Thomas25 December 2013 (2013-12-25)9.16
Shelagh (formerly Sister Bernadette) agonises over her decision to leave the convent and marry Dr Turner, and when his son Timothy is diagnosed with polio the wedding is called off. Trixie tries to help a patient's husband who has been traumatised by his time fighting in the Korean War. An unexploded German bomb is discovered near the convent, forcing local residents to flee their homes. Ultimately Shelagh and Dr Turner's wedding takes place, but damage caused by the controlled detonation of the bomb advances the demolition of Nonnatus House.
Series
17Episode 1Thea SharrockHeidi Thomas19 January 2014 (2014-01-19)11.35
It is now 1959, and the nuns and midwives move into a new Nonnatus House, joined by new arrival Sister Winifred (Victoria Yeates), while Chummy struggles to adjust to life as a housewife. The weekly clinics are also at a new location and it proves hard to raise awareness until Chummy manages to arrange for Princess Margaret to make an official visit. Jenny and Dr Turner find it hard to identify why a mother's two children are regularly ill, but an antique book belonging to Sister Monica Joan unexpectedly provides the clue that leads to a diagnosis of the then little-known condition cystic fibrosis. After delivering a baby in an emergency, Chummy is asked to return to Nonnatus House as a part-time midwife.
18Episode 2Juliet MayHarriet Warner26 January 2014 (2014-01-26)10.83
Jenny is promoted to the position of nursing sister over the more experienced Trixie, which causes resentment between the pair. After attending a lecture by a prominent doctor, Cynthia attempts to introduce more modern approaches to relaxation and pain relief during childbirth, but meets resistance from Sister Evangelina. Ultimately, however, her methods are vindicated when they help a young mother cope with a difficult birth. Jenny deals with Doris, a mother with an aggressive husband whose delivery will reveal her infidelity. She plans to abandon the baby but is persuaded by Jenny to follow the proper procedures for having the infant adopted. Despite their best efforts, Doris' husband discovers her secret, forcing a more hasty and distressing parting between mother and child.
19Episode 3Juliet MayLiz Lake2 February 2014 (2014-02-02)10.55
When the regular midwifery team at HM Prison Holloway is stricken with influenza, Sister Julienne and Trixie are drafted in to cover, and both find the conditions hard to deal with. Sister Julienne becomes involved with Stella Crangle, a heavily pregnant inmate who wishes to better herself and is afraid that after she has given birth the prison authorities will remove her child from her. Sister Julienne and Trixie meet Chaplain Tom Hereward while at the prison. Shelagh and Dr Turner long to start a family and are devastated when it is found that, as a result of her earlier tuberculosis, she is unable to have children. Fred secures theatre tickets as a treat for Chummy's birthday but is left embarrassed when they turn out to be counterfeit.
20Episode 4Juliet MayGabbie Asher and Heidi Thomas9 February 2014 (2014-02-09)10.23
When Jenny's boyfriend Alec invites her to spend the weekend with him in Brighton, she is suspicious of his motives. Soon afterwards, he is involved in an accident at work and, although he initially seems to be recovering, he takes a turn for the worse and dies, leaving Jenny devastated. Sister Winifred helps an elderly Jewish woman who has not left her flat for twelve years. Shelagh attempts to find a new purpose in life by reviving the Poplar Choral Society. Jenny is persuaded to take compassionate leave and go to stay at the nuns' "mother house" for a time.
21Episode 5China Moo-YoungHeidi Thomas16 February 2014 (2014-02-16)10.15
With Jenny away and Sister Julienne taken ill, Shelagh takes over the administration of Nonnatus House and engages the services of Patsy Mount (Emerald Fennell), who has newly switched from nursing at the London Hospital to midwifery. The staff are planning a jubilee party to mark the anniversary of Sister Evangelina having taken her final vows, but she is opposed to the celebration. An attempt to contact her family leads to an unwelcome encounter with her brother, an alcoholic derelict. Meanwhile, Sally, a woman with Down's syndrome, living in a residential home, has become pregnant. Her family are angry and believe that one of the staff must have abused her, but it turns out she has formed a relationship with Jacob, another resident at the home. The staff refuse to accept that the couple's relationship is genuine and, after the baby is stillborn, Jacob is removed to another home in Scotland. Jessica Raine retains top billing for this episode, even though she is only seen briefly in a non-speaking role.
22Episode 6China Moo-YoungDamian Wayling23 February 2014 (2014-02-23)10.49
Trixie is delighted when handsome curate Tom Hereward invites her to a cricket match, but is less impressed to find that they are taking a group of Cub Scouts to Clacton-on-Sea in a run-down old bus which breaks down en route. Patsy recognises a patient's mystery ailment as the legacy of a tropical disease contracted in a prisoner-of-war camp in the Far East, and reveals that she grew up in Singapore and was herself in an internment camp during the Second World War. Trixie helps a young couple of Irish runaways from Belfast who are unmarried and expecting their first child. Shelagh and Dr Turner resolve to look into adopting a child. Jessica Raine does not appear at all in this episode.
23Episode 7Minkie SpiroHarriet Warner2 March 2014 (2014-03-02)10.65
Jenny returns to work, but is seconded to the London Hospital, where she finds her approach to patient care hampered by strict regulations. Chummy is surprised to find that her parents have separated, and invites her mother to stay, despite the haughty Lady Browne's disdain for her daughter's lifestyle. Later, Chummy is devastated to learn that her mother is suffering from terminal cancer. Sister Julienne and Cynthia help a young mother who, after giving birth, displays increasingly irrational behaviour, nearly jumping off a bridge with her baby. She is eventually diagnosed with puerperal psychosis and sent to a mental institution for treatment. Shelagh and Dr Turner's plan to adopt a child is threatened when background checks reveal that he spent time in a military mental institution after serving in the Second World War.
24Episode 8Minkie SpiroHeidi Thomas9 March 2014 (2014-03-09)10.09
Shelagh and Dr Turner are approved for adoption and become the parents of a baby girl. Chummy's colleagues rally round as her mother's condition deteriorates and Lady Browne eventually dies peacefully in bed at Chummy's house. The experience has a particular effect on Jenny, who decides that her vocation now lies with caring for the terminally ill, and she resigns from Nonnatus House, leaving midwifery behind to begin a new career as a Marie Curie nurse.

Series 4 (2015)[]

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [13]
Special
25Christmas specialThaddeus O'SullivanHeidi Thomas25 December 2014 (2014-12-25)9.41
When harsh conditions at a home for unmarried expectant mothers are exposed, Chummy and Patsy are required to take over the running of the home, and later help a young mother decide that she is not as set on giving her baby up for adoption as she had thought. Cynthia wrestles with a calling to become a nun, but an encounter with a former mental hospital inmate helps her to make up her mind and she leaves midwifery behind to become a postulant. Although the character of Jenny was written out at the end of the previous series, Vanessa Redgrave continues to provide voice-overs as "mature" Jenny and appears on-screen for the first time in a framing sequence set in 2005.
Series
26Episode 1Thaddeus O'SullivanHeidi Thomas18 January 2015 (2015-01-18)10.15
In 1960, new nurse Barbara Gilbert (Charlotte Ritchie) arrives to take up duties at Nonnatus House, but struggles to make a good first impression, especially when a late-night drinking session with Trixie and Patsy leaves her extremely hungover. Trixie helps a family of four children who are regularly left alone by their mother in conditions of abject squalor, which brings back bad memories of her own childhood. Impressed by the qualities she displays in dealing with the situation, her boyfriend Tom asks her to marry him. Sister Evangelina finally seeks help for pains which have been troubling her for some time. Chummy temporarily leaves Nonnatus House to take over as matron of the mother and baby home.
27Episode 2Juliet MayHeidi Thomas25 January 2015 (2015-01-25)10.49
Another new nurse, Phyllis Crane (Linda Bassett), joins the staff at Nonnatus House and infuriates the staff, especially Sister Evangelina, with her officious manner. Sister Julienne is delighted when a rich benefactor resolves to leave a legacy to the convent, but finds herself tormented when it is revealed that it is a man, Charles Newgarden (Nicholas Farrell), with whom she shared a romantic relationship 30 years earlier. Barbara and Patsy are both devastated when they deliver a stillborn child to a young Trinidadian mother, but everyone is delighted when her labour continues and a healthy twin is born. Trixie's obsession with organising an extravagant engagement party threatens to drive a wedge between her and Tom.
28Episode 3Juliet MayHarriet Warner1 February 2015 (2015-02-01)11.07
The community is outraged and opinions divided at Nonnatus House when an expectant father is charged with gross indecency after being caught committing homosexual acts (at the time illegal in the United Kingdom). He is ordered to undergo hormone treatment, and the couple are despised and shunned by neighbours. Phyllis investigates when she realises that an impoverished Irish immigrant woman has lied about where she lives. Dr Turner and Shelagh are able to trace the source of an outbreak of dysentery to a food delivery service.
29Episode 4Amy NeilDamian Wayling8 February 2015 (2015-02-08)10.38
After an encounter with a young prostitute who is both pregnant and infected with syphilis, Sister Winifred attempts to spread the message of safe sex among the prostitutes of the neighbourhood. Barbara deals with a man who is so desperate to have a son to inherit the family business that he will not accept his wife delivering a daughter. Sister Monica Joan finds a new sense of purpose when she is unexpectedly forced to assist Shelagh with a birth. After learning that Tom will be assigned to a lower-class, very far-off parish in Newcastle, Trixie breaks off her engagement to him, passing out after consuming a large amount of alcoholic drink to cope, forcing an exhausted Barbara to serve as midwife in her third delivery of the day.
30Episode 5Dominic LeclercCarolyn Bonnyman15 February 2015 (2015-02-15)10.73
When a baby suffers two fractures in mysterious circumstances, suspicion falls on his parents, who are Christian Scientists and hesitant against any medical treatment. Dr Turner arranges for the child to be taken into care, but later realises that the baby actually has osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare bone disease. The doctor's guilt over the unnecessary suffering he has put the parents through, combined with overwork, drives him to illness. Shelagh attempts to take over running the surgery, but is not taken seriously until she dons a nurse's uniform. Barbara endeavours to help a Sylheti (Bengali) woman whose pregnancy is complicated by the fact that she cannot speak English and has diphtheria. Cynthia, now Sister Mary Cynthia, returns to Nonnatus House.
31Episode 6Dominic LeclercHeidi Thomas22 February 2015 (2015-02-22)10.10
Sister Mary Cynthia befriends a group of Irish Travellers camped on a bombsite, but things become complicated when one of the women goes into labour just as police arrive to evict the travellers from the site. When an unwed, diabetic teenage girl finds she is pregnant, she is advised to have a termination due to the potential complications that her diabetes may cause. Rather than lose her baby, she goes on the run with her boyfriend, but without a supply of insulin she becomes dangerously ill, and her boyfriend must act quickly to save her life.
32Episode 7Darcia MartinHarriet Warner1 March 2015 (2015-03-01)10.13
Two former school friends give birth at the maternity home on the same day, but in the confusion of a fire evacuation Sister Evangelina accidentally switches the babies. When the mistake is revealed, the two sets of parents have differing views on how the situation should be resolved. An elderly couple who have not been apart since the war must face separation when one is diagnosed with cancer. Fred proposes to shopkeeper Violet, while Patsy must conceal her relationship with nurse Delia.
33Episode 8Darcia MartinHeidi Thomas8 March 2015 (2015-03-08)10.22
Chummy returns to Nonnatus House. Trixie helps a deaf patient. A patient whose severe sickness is initially dismissed as mere nerves is diagnosed with the serious condition hyperemesis gravidarum but treated with the revolutionary drug thalidomide. Fred's daughter Marlene's interference causes his relationship with Violet to flounder, but with the help of Chummy, the couple are reunited and marry. Patsy is heartbroken when Delia is left with amnesia following a traffic accident and has no recollection of her. Trixie admits that she is an alcoholic and joins an alcoholic support group with the help of Sister Mary Cynthia.

Series 5 (2016)[]

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [13]
Special
34Christmas specialJuliet MayHeidi Thomas25 December 2015 (2015-12-25)9.30
The BBC plan to televise a carol service from Poplar, but Shelagh's plans for the event are thrown into chaos when the children's choir she has organised is quarantined due to a measles outbreak. Following an argument, Sister Monica Joan goes missing, and when a body is found in the river the nuns fear the worst. This proves to be a false alarm, however, and the elderly nun is eventually tracked down at the now-abandoned country house which had been her childhood home. A partly-recovered Delia re-enters Patsy's life.
Series
35Episode 1Syd MacartneyHeidi Thomas17 January 2016 (2016-01-17)9.88
It is now 1961. When a baby is born with severe deformities, the midwives find it difficult to handle the situation, and the baby's father rejects her completely, to his wife's dismay. Trixie's new sideline as a keep fit instructor brings her into conflict with Sister Julienne, and she also becomes suspicious of the relationship between Barbara and Tom. Rather than return to Wales as her mother wishes, Delia is invited to move into Nonnatus House.
36Episode 2Syd MacartneyHarriet Warner24 January 2016 (2016-01-24)9.77
Sister Evangelina's vocal opposition to mothers using formula milk causes a young woman who is unable to breastfeed to doubt her abilities as a mother and places her baby in danger through dehydration. In the aftermath of the incident Sister Evangelina asks to temporarily leave Nonnatus House to spend time with an enclosed order. Barbara is caught between an expectant mother and her husband, who is accused of being workshy. When it is discovered that he is actually terminally ill, his wife begs to have her baby induced before her husband dies. Phyllis develops feelings for a man she met at an evening class, drives him on a country outing, but is shocked to find that he has concealed from her that he has a wife with dementia.
37Episode 3Sheree FolksonCarolyn Bonnyman31 January 2016 (2016-01-31)9.50
A new mother is diagnosed with typhoid, stirring up uncomfortable memories for Patsy, whose mother and sister died of the disease in a prisoner of war camp. Eventually, the young woman's grandmother is revealed to be a carrier of the disease, a situation which she struggles to accept. A young teacher, pregnant by a married man, loses her home and her job and is driven by desperation to attempt to abort her own baby, at the time a crime. Barbara agonises over whether to tell Trixie that Tom has invited her to dinner.
38Episode 4Sheree FolksonHeidi Thomas7 February 2016 (2016-02-07)10.05
A bright young man is delighted to gain a place at university, but his plans are complicated when his girlfriend discovers that she is pregnant, and he must decide what is the right thing to do. Sister Julienne is seconded to a hospital and witnesses another baby born with very severe birth defects. When the baby dies before its mother has even seen it, Sister Julienne must decide whether her faith permits her to conceal the truth about the birth from the mother. Meanwhile, Dr Turner and Shelagh begin to search for a cause for the birth defects. Trixie and Tom finally come to terms with the end of their engagement, and she gives her blessing to his relationship with Barbara.
39Episode 5Lisa ClarkeHarriet Warner14 February 2016 (2016-02-14)9.62
When Phyllis' car breaks down on the way to a delivery, Delia must talk a young mother through her home birth over the telephone. Subsequently the mother begins to display erratic behaviour and finally goes missing. Phyllis learns of the young woman's past as a prostitute and, after tracking her down, tries to convince her that she does indeed deserve her new life. After reading up on new schools of thought linking cigarettes to cancer, Timothy Turner resorts to shock tactics to stop his parents' smoking habit. When Violet is incapacitated, Fred takes over running her shop, with disastrous results.
40Episode 6Lisa ClarkeHeidi Thomas21 February 2016 (2016-02-21)9.66
Thora, a middle-aged woman, is pretending to be pregnant in order to conceal the fact that her unmarried daughter is expecting a baby. The Turners go on holiday, necessitating the appointment of a locum doctor. When the locum gives bad advice over the phone to Thora, she unwittingly places her daughter's life in danger. Trixie has to use all her skill to save the situation, and Thora is left coming to terms with the consequences of concealing secrets. A number of violent assaults take place on women in Poplar, and Sister Mary Cynthia becomes the latest victim. Traumatised at first, she eventually finds the strength to lead the police to the attacker.
41Episode 7Darcia MartinHeidi Thomas28 February 2016 (2016-02-28)10.20
Patsy assists Daisy and her family of itinerant barge-dwellers, who eschew many of the trappings of modern society. When Daisy rejects the opportunity to give birth at the maternity home after accusing Patsy of meddling, Patsy must deliver the baby on a barge at the height of a violent storm. The advent of the release of the contraceptive pill causes a dilemma for Sister Julienne, who worries about the moral implications. A young man who was compelled to marry his girlfriend when she became pregnant and is distant from her comes into his own as a husband and father when his wife is stricken with a potentially fatal condition. Sister Evangelina returns to the convent but reveals that she has suffered a stroke.
42Episode 8Darcia MartinHeidi Thomas6 March 2016 (2016-03-06)10.89
The Turners receive the news that the drug thalidomide, which the doctor had regularly prescribed for women suffering from morning sickness, has been withdrawn after being linked with birth deformities of the kind observed in recent months in Poplar. He must deal with his own guilt as he and Shelagh, with the help of Phyllis and Patsy, begin an effort to link the drug to the affected patients. A young man, recently returned to Poplar, makes haste to marry his Australian fiancee before the arrival of their baby, who is born at the couple's reception. After a brief return to work and struggles with her health, Sister Evangelina has a second stroke and dies, leaving the Nonnatus House community devastated and the people of the East End lining up to pay their respects.

Series 6 (2017)[]

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [13]
Special
43Christmas specialSyd MacartneyHeidi Thomas25 December 2016 (2016-12-25)9.21
Most of the Nonnatus House staff travel to a tiny rural mission hospital in South Africa, which is threatened with closure. There they hold a well-attended oral polio vaccination clinic. They find the health of the patients severely threatened by a dwindling and dirty water supply, and must try to convince a local land-owner with a grudge against the establishment to allow a new life-saving pipeline to run across his farm. They also must deliver a baby out in the bush when their only lorry breaks down, and cope with a distraught woman with false pregnancy, and a polio patient who was carried all day on his brother's back. When the hospital's only doctor is herself hospitalised with a life-threatening illness, it falls to Trixie to deliver a baby by Caesarean section. Tom proposes to Barbara and the couple get engaged.
Series
44Episode 1Sheree FolksonHeidi Thomas22 January 2017 (2017-01-22)10.40
It is now 1962. Returning from South Africa (with the exception of Trixie, who is to remain at the clinic for two months), the staff are surprised to find that the stern Sister Ursula (Harriet Walter) has been placed in charge of Nonnatus House, with Sister Julienne relegated to lesser duties. Phyllis helps a mother who is desperate to escape her violent husband. Concerns are raised for the mental health of Sister Mary Cynthia, and she is sent away to the mother house. Shelagh learns she is expecting a baby, while Patsy receives a letter from Hong Kong informing her that her father is terminally ill.
45Episode 2Sheree FolksonHarriet Warner29 January 2017 (2017-01-29)9.89
Sister Ursula's strict rule at Nonnatus House continues, and she comes into conflict with both Patsy and Sister Winifred when she dictates that the staff should not become emotionally involved with patients. Shelagh is caught up in the aftermath of an explosion at a warehouse, along with former army nurse Valerie Dyer (Jennifer Kirby), and subsequently campaigns for better facilities for the workmen, with the help of a young father who was injured in the blast and fears he has been blinded before he even got to see his child. Phyllis begins to realise the extent of Patsy's relationship with Delia. Patsy helps an expectant mother who faces the prospect of a difficult birth due to her achondroplasia, and the case makes her realise that she needs to tend to her dying father, prompting her to leave for Hong Kong.
46Episode 3James LarkinCarolyn Bonnyman5 February 2017 (2017-02-05)10.38
Proposed government reforms to the way maternity care is provided mean that Dr Turner and Shelagh must prepare for an inspection of the maternity home and face the prospect of its closure. During the inspection, Shelagh is rushed to the hospital due to complications with her own pregnancy. Sister Ursula's latest edict at Nonnatus House is that the midwives must spend no longer than 20 minutes at each appointment. Under pressure due to the time limit, Barbara fails to notice that a baby is suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty water heater, and the baby is rushed to hospital with her life in the balance. Chastened by the incident and the effect of her attempted reforms, Sister Ursula returns to the mother house, restoring Sister Julienne to the helm at Nonnatus House. Trixie returns from South Africa, but, having stayed at the mother house during her journey home, expresses concerns that Sister Mary Cynthia was not there.
47Episode 4James LarkinHeidi Thomas12 February 2017 (2017-02-12)10.19
An expectant mother struggling with debt since her husband left her decides that the solution to her problems is to give her baby to her childless cousin. However, when the child arrives she finds she cannot part with it. The incident has a particular impact on Tom, who reveals that he himself was adopted. Shelagh and Dr Turner face an anxious wait for news on their baby's condition, but when they hear the baby's heartbeat, they are relieved to learn that it is still alive. Sister Julienne secures funding to recruit a new midwife, but the search proves fruitless until she remembers former army nurse Valerie Dyer, who happily accepts the job.
48Episode 5Lisa ClarkAndrea Gibb19 February 2017 (2017-02-19)10.63
Fred's cousin Ivy dies, leaving behind her son, Reggie, a 21-year-old with Down's syndrome. Fred and Violet take him in, but realising that his living with them indefinitely would be impractical, must decide whether the best option would be to commit him to a mental institution. While visiting the austere Linchmere Hospital, Fred and Sister Monica Joan are shocked to find Sister Mary Cynthia a patient there. They then find a much friendlier facility that offers gardening therapy and place Reggie there instead. Inspired by an expectant mother with very poor dental hygiene, Dr Turner spearheads a programme to improve the teeth of the borough's residents, during which Trixie is introduced to handsome dentist Christopher Dockerill (Jack Hawkins).
49Episode 6Lisa ClarkLouise Ironside26 February 2017 (2017-02-26)10.22
Sister Mary Cynthia is released from the mental institution and returns to Nonnatus House. Her mental health issues persist, however, and she is eventually sent to the gentler Northfield Hospital near Birmingham. Valerie deals with the case of a woman from Somaliland, who was subjected to female genital mutilation as a child, leading to a complicated birth and a clash of cultures over the practice. Tensions run high during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
50Episode 7Syd MacartneyHeidi Thomas5 March 2017 (2017-03-05)10.39
Rhoda and Bernie Mullucks, whose third child and youngest daughter, Susan, was born with severely deformed limbs due to the effects of thalidomide, investigate the possibility of her being fitted with artificial limbs, but the experience causes tensions in their own relationship. Driving back from a successful delivery, Phyllis knocks over one of the family's other children with her car and is left devastated by the possible consequences. Trixie suspects that Christopher is seeing another woman, but learns that he actually has a child from a prior marriage, which he had not previously disclosed. In return for his revelation, she reveals to him her own struggles with alcoholism. Delia learns that Patsy's father has died in Hong Kong.
51Episode 8Syd MacartneyHeidi Thomas12 March 2017 (2017-03-12)10.54
Barbara is distraught that her vicar father has accepted a missionary post overseas and will not be able to officiate at her wedding, so she brings the date forward and her friends rally round to help her organise the event in just three weeks. Shelagh gives birth to a baby boy. A mother who has been taking the contraceptive pill without her husband's knowledge develops a pulmonary embolism and dies, sparking concerns about the safety of the medication. Trixie agrees to meet Christopher's daughter, Alexandra. Patsy returns from Hong Kong and pledges her love for Delia.

Series 7 (2018)[]

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [13]
Special
52Christmas specialSyd MacartneyHeidi Thomas25 December 2017 (2017-12-25)9.57
The exceptionally harsh winter of 1962–63 causes disruption for the residents of Poplar. Valerie seeks to reassure an unmarried expectant mother that her partner, who is not the father, will be able to love the baby as his own. But Valerie delivers the baby one month premature which she believes is stillborn, leaving all three grieving. On her way back to Nonnatus House, however, she discovers that the baby is actually alive. The death of a local man leads Sister Julienne to discover a dark history of emotional, physical and sexual abuse that have split the family. Tom and Barbara depart for Birmingham after he is appointed to a temporary post there. Meanwhile, Shelagh is forced to return to work as the weather increases pressure on Nonnatus and the practice.
Series
53Episode 1Syd MacartneyHeidi Thomas21 January 2018 (2018-01-21)9.09
In early 1963, with Barbara away and Patsy and Delia having also departed, young Jamaican midwife Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott) joins the staff at Nonnatus House. Phyllis crosses swords with formidable policeman Sergeant Woolf while handling the case of an elderly woman who is dying of cancer but refuses to leave her house even as the street around her is demolished. Handling the case of a single mother helps Trixie come to terms with the fact that boyfriend Christopher wishes to take their relationship further.
54Episode 2Claire WinyardLouise Ironside28 January 2018 (2018-01-28)8.81
Lucille experiences bigotry because of her West Indian background, and when a young woman unexpectedly suffers a stroke shortly after giving birth, her domineering mother blames Lucille. An expectant mother wishes her husband to be present at the birth, but he refuses. When his wife goes into labour, however, he must assist with the birth. The arrival of a beautiful young Hungarian au pair, Magda, shakes up the Turners' household.
55Episode 3Claire WinyardKelly Jones4 February 2018 (2018-02-04)9.39
An expectant mother is diagnosed with the degenerative neurological disorder Huntington's disease, and quickly deteriorates to the point where she is unable to look after her children. Magda is shocked to discover that she is pregnant; after reading the Turners' medical books, she steals ergometrine from Nonnatus House in an attempt to induce an abortion, but puts her own life in danger. Fred and Violet organise a charity beauty contest. Concerned for his young daughter, Trixie ends her relationship with Christopher and turns to drink once again.
56Episode 4Rebecca JohnsonLauren Klee & Heidi Thomas11 February 2018 (2018-02-11)9.57
A Pakistani woman is aghast to find that, during a return to Pakistan, her husband has taken a second wife, a teenager who is now expecting a baby. Unable to have children herself, she is initially resentful of the second wife, but comes to her assistance when the young woman finds motherhood difficult. Sister Monica Joan is diagnosed with cataracts and risks losing her sight, but refuses to have an operation until Fred persuades her otherwise. Trixie's personal problems continue to increase and she is granted a leave of absence for six months.
57Episode 5Rebecca JohnsonHelen Blakeman18 February 2018 (2018-02-18)9.33
Rumours that a newly arrived sailor from Nigeria is suffering from smallpox cause panic in the community, and he hides away in fear and shame. After determining that he instead has leprosy, the midwives find a place for him to receive healing care in a residential facility. Lucille endeavours to assist a pregnant woman who has developed a phobia of giving birth after an earlier traumatic delivery. Tom and Barbara return to Poplar.
58Episode 6Emma SullivanLouise Ironside25 February 2018 (2018-02-25)9.33
An Irish family with two children and a third on the way arrive in Poplar to take over the newsagent's shop, but the husband is killed in a car crash. When the shop is damaged by a fire, Barbara and Fred lead efforts to get the family back on their feet. Valerie and Lucille lead health and relationship classes for teen girls at the youth club, but a stern mother complains about the sexual education. When Valerie digs deeper, she finds that the mother's attitude is coloured by her own sister's promiscuous behaviour in her teenage years. Valerie helps the mother track down her sister, who had been committed to an asylum. After complaining of a cold, Barbara is rushed to hospital with suspected sepsis. Meanwhile, Sister Monica Joan undergoes successful cataract surgery but must endure an annoying, talkative roommate in hospital.
59Episode 7Syd MacartneyAndrea Gibb4 March 2018 (2018-03-04)9.57
Barbara's condition is diagnosed as meningococcal sepsis. At first she seems to be making a recovery, but she subsequently begins to deteriorate and dies, leaving everyone devastated. Dr Turner assists at a remand home, where he encounters a teenaged car thief, who is the same age as Timothy, but has a pregnant wife. Dr Turner tries to help him plead his case in court and later to cope in prison to overcome depression and bullying by other inmates.
60Episode 8Syd MacartneyHeidi Thomas11 March 2018 (2018-03-11)8.99
The staff all find the aftermath of Barbara's funeral hard to handle, and Sister Winifred tries to aid a grieving Tom by holding Barbara's uniform and midwife supplies rather than letting him give them away. They find comfort in organising a birthday celebration for Sister Monica Joan, but their joy is interrupted by the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. An expectant mother prepares for single motherhood after leaving her philandering husband, but she is distraught to learn that her widowed father has been in a long-term relationship with a man — who is now suffering from dementia and must move in.

Series 8 (2019)[]

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [14]
Special
61Christmas specialSyd MacartneyHeidi Thomas25 December 2018 (2018-12-25)8.94
The nuns are summoned back to their Mother House when their Mother Superior is found to be terminally ill. Mother Superior wants Sister Julienne to be the new Superior, but Sister Julienne is hesitant. Ultimately she is not elected and is able to return to Nonnatus House, but Sister Winifred remains at the Mother House to work in the order's orphanage. Shelagh resolves to foster May, a Chinese orphan whose adoption is on hold. Trixie returns to Poplar and is surprised to learn that expectant mothers are increasingly deserting the services of Nonnatus House in favour of hospital births but is called on to help one such mother with an unexpected delivery in the middle of the street.
Series
62Episode 1Syd MacartneyHeidi Thomas13 January 2019 (2019-01-13)9.11
It is now 1964, and two new nuns, Sister Hilda (Fenella Woolgar) and Sister Frances (Ella Bruccoleri) join the Nonnatus House staff. Cathy, an aspiring model who has undergone an abortion, then illegal in the UK in most circumstances, needs Valerie's help dealing with the consequences. Cathy's sister wants the police to take action against the practitioner, but there proves to be little that they can do. The disposal of the nurses' old day bags causes emotional problems for Sister Monica Joan.
63Episode 2Kate SaxonLouise Ironside20 January 2019 (2019-01-20)9.13
Lucille becomes involved in the case of Clarice Millgrove, a proud former suffragette now living in an unsanitary house full of hoarded possessions. Fiercely independent, she refuses to move to a care home, even when ordered by the courts. A Ghanaian mother finds that she is suffering from sickle cell disease. Confident that her children will be safe from the condition, as it can only inherited if both parents have the disease, she is horrified to learn that her husband has been concealing his own symptoms. Violet stands for election to the borough council but is disappointed by Fred's lack of support.
64Episode 3Kate SaxonDebbie O'Malley27 January 2019 (2019-01-27)8.87
The Turners try to help an overprotective mother whose first child died and who now panics at the slightest sign of ill-health in her second. Valerie helps a mother of six whose latest child is born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. Struggling with his additional needs as well as a demanding family brings her to the verge of thinking that her new baby would be better off being adopted. Violet is elected to the local council. After hearing how local children dream of a trip to the seaside, Phyllis resolves to bring the beach to Poplar.
65Episode 4David O'NeillAmy Roberts and Loren McLaughlan3 February 2019 (2019-02-03)8.92
There is trouble at the maternity home when a mother and daughter who are both pregnant but are estranged from each other find themselves in adjacent beds. The two births, however, bring reconciliation. Trixie's friend Jeannie is disappointed to find that she is expecting a third child, as she had not wanted any more children. When Dr Turner refuses to refer her for a legal termination, she pays for an illegal abortion. Soon afterwards, she develops a serious infection which results in her death. Phyllis goes on a date with the gruff policeman Sgt Woolf, with whom she had crossed swords on a number of previous occasions.
66Episode 5David O'NeillAndrea Gibb10 February 2019 (2019-02-10)9.04
Dr Turner and Trixie launch a new cervical screening clinic. A test on Lois Parry, a young bride-to-be, reveals anomalies which lead to the discovery that she has intersex characteristics. Unable to cope with the revelation or to go through with her wedding, she unsuccessfully attempts suicide, but ultimately finds support from her family and her understanding fiancé. Her case inspires Trixie to begin voluntary work at the Women's Advice Centre. Lucille cannot bring herself to act upon her new-found feelings for handsome mechanic Cyril Robinson, but ultimately agrees to go on a date with him. Meanwhile, Sgt Woolf asks Phyllis to spend more time with him.
67Episode 6Christiana Ebohon-GreenCarolyn Bonnyman17 February 2019 (2019-02-17)9.11
With Phyllis in hospital due to a back injury, Nonnatus House staff await the arrival of another nun to assist, and are surprised to find that it is the Mother Superior herself, Mother Mildred (Miriam Margolyes). After witnessing two generations of a dock-working family affected by serious medical conditions linked to their employment, she becomes involved in the fight for improved working conditions for the dockers. The dock workers are kept away from work after one is discovered to have contracted anthrax by unloading foreign bone meal. An unmarried teenage mother refuses to be forced to give her baby up for adoption, as had happened before, and Lucille helps her to face an uncertain future and get assistance. The Turners are upset as the date of May's adoption draws near. Lucille convinces Cyril to attend her church's gospel meetings for companionship, rather than pubs.
68Episode 7Christiana Ebohon-GreenLisa Holdsworth24 February 2019 (2019-02-24)9.05
Trixie cares for first-time mother Heather, whose symptoms lead to a diagnosis of gonorrhea, a sexually-transmitted infection acquired from her husband, who has been frequenting prostitutes. Mother Mildred insists that Sister Frances must begin attending births unaccompanied, despite her lack of confidence, and she proves herself at a difficult delivery. Valerie is horrified to discover that her beloved grandmother Elsie is an illegal abortionist. Dr Turner pushes for the opening of a Brook Advisory Centre in Poplar, but Violet is reluctant to commit council money to the project.
69Episode 8Kate CheesemanHeidi Thomas3 March 2019 (2019-03-03)9.08
Valerie reports her grandmother to the police, and she is put on trial. Initially she pleads not guilty and is defiant about her actions, but the nuns persuade Cathy, the aspiring model who had an abortion earlier in the year, to testify. After hearing her evidence, Elsie changes her plea and is sentenced to six years in prison. The Turners are saddened by May's departure, but after the adoption process collapses, she is returned to them. Sister Hilda helps a terminally ill young woman fulfil a dream by attending a dance.

Series 9 (2020)[]

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [14]
Special
70Christmas specialSyd MacartneyHeidi Thomas25 December 2019 (2019-12-25)8.69
Mother Mildred, Sister Julienne, Dr Turner, Shelagh, Phyllis, Trixie, Valerie, Lucille and Fred travel to the Outer Hebrides to assist communities lacking in medical facilities. Despite being left behind, Sister Monica Joan makes her own way to the islands, where she has an encounter that reaffirms her faith. Dr Turner must perform an emergency appendectomy on a new mother in a storm-lashed lighthouse without electricity. Phyllis and Trixie help Effie, a teenager rebelling against the confining island lifestyle. Back in Poplar, Reggie attempts to set a Guinness World Record for the world's longest Christmas paper chain.
Series
71Episode 1Kate CheesemanHeidi Thomas5 January 2020 (2020-01-05)8.81
In early 1965, Fred finds a newborn baby abandoned in a dustbin, and a search begins for her mother. She is eventually found to be the housekeeper of a local Catholic priest, but Mother Mildred is unimpressed by the priest's callous attitude. With the help of Phyllis, an expectant mother moves from an unsanitary homeless shelter to a council flat, but shortly after she gives birth, her older son is diagnosed with diphtheria. Shortly after Mother Mildred brings her time at the convent to an end by returning to the order's mother house, Sister Julienne learns that Nonnatus House has been earmarked for demolition as part of a slum clearance.
72Episode 2Kate CheesemanDebbie O'Malley12 January 2020 (2020-01-12)8.46
Florrie, a woman in her late 50s, forgets that she is minding her granddaughter and leaves her unattended. When Dr Turner also diagnoses liver disease, Florrie's son-in-law is convinced that she is a secret alcoholic, but his wife is unconvinced. Eventually Dr Turner identifies the cause as haemochromatosis (iron overload). Shelagh helps Tina, a feisty young prostitute who is pregnant. She claims that a previous child has gone to live in America, but Sister Julienne finds that he is actually in care in Poplar. Her life is endangered by the effects of an ectopic pregnancy, causing her to lose her baby, and Sister Julienne tries to ensure that Tina does not find herself in a similar situation in the future.
73Episode 3David O'NeillHelen Raynor19 January 2020 (2020-01-19)9.00
Lucille is seconded to St Cuthbert's hospital to supervise student midwives, but experiences racism from a difficult patient. On the way to the delivery room, the two of them become trapped in a lift, where Lucille must deliver the baby. Phyllis is concerned for the welfare of two Sylheti boys, Rahul and Jalal, who have recently arrived from East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh). When she visits their home, she finds that their mother is seriously ill but has been abandoned by her husband because of her condition. The midwives stage a fashion show to raise money for the maternity home's incubator fund.
74Episode 4David O'NeillPaul Walker26 January 2020 (2020-01-26)8.31
Concerned about Nonnatus House's place in a changing community and the threat of demolition, Sister Julienne agrees to four young male doctors residing at the convent as part of their training, but not all the residents are pleased by the arrangement. Fred and Reggie befriend George, an older man living in condemned housing. When George is taken ill with symptoms that baffle Dr Turner, one of the young trainee doctors diagnoses a condition caused by a reaction to the faeces of the pigeons which George breeds, and he must face giving up his beloved birds.
75Episode 5Noreen KershawJonathan Harvey2 February 2020 (2020-02-02)7.98
Grace, a middle-aged woman driven to the brink of despair by the demands of her large family, accuses Sister Julienne of being out of touch with ordinary people. Taken aback, she ventures out into Poplar without her habit. Sister Hilda helps Ron, an overprotective father who panics at the slightest suggestion that anything is wrong with his baby. Sister Monica Joan longs to see the hit film The Sound of Music.
76Episode 6Noreen KershawCarolyn Bonnyman9 February 2020 (2020-02-09)8.21
Sister Julienne finally breaks the news to the rest of the staff about the impending demolition of Nonnatus House, leaving them worried for their future. The Turners' hopes of adopting May face a hurdle when her mother, who was believed dead, comes forward and says she wants to take her daughter back to Hong Kong. Valerie's cousin is overjoyed when her baby is born on what would have been her own father's birthday, but soon after the birth her son is diagnosed with a number of life-limiting conditions. Kevin McNulty, one of the young doctors who stayed at Nonnatus House earlier in the year, returns to work alongside Dr Turner.
77Episode 7Syd MacartneyAndrea Gibb16 February 2020 (2020-02-16)7.90
Trixie helps Marion, an expectant mother who is blind but does not believe this will stop her caring for her child. Marion's sister has other ideas, however, and reports her to social services. When the baby is born, Marion has to learn to accept help. Dr McNulty appears to be settling in well, but he is troubled by an old injury and resorts to stealing pain relief drugs. Valerie is concerned for the well-being of her grandmother in prison.
78Episode 8Syd MacartneyHeidi Thomas23 February 2020 (2020-02-23)8.01
Sister Julienne is notified that the council is reducing funding to Nonnatus House at the same time that the rent payments are increased, putting the order's future in doubt. Valerie's grandmother is hospitalised and diagnosed with cancer. She is released into Valerie's care, which proves difficult for both of them; Valerie sits by her deathbed but misses the moment of her actual death. Two of the midwives' patients turn out to be pregnant by the same man. Dr McNulty's drug problems come to light. An impassioned speech to the council by Trixie and the support of the local community lead to a stay of execution for Nonnatus House, but only for a year.

Series 10 (2021)[]

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [14]
Special
79Christmas specialSyd MacartneyHeidi Thomas25 December 2020 (2020-12-25)8.19
Valerie has left Nonnatus House to work at Hope Clinic in South Africa. A circus is in town and the proprietor's daughter is heavily pregnant; the proprietor himself has been concealing from her that he has been battling cancer. Shelagh encounters an old acquaintance who has experienced seven miscarriages and is reluctant to make proper preparations for her upcoming birth. At her godmother's insistence, Trixie joins a "marriage bureau" but experiences unsatisfactory results. Sister Monica Joan breaks her leg in a fall and faces the prospect of spending weeks in hospital, but Lucille is insistent that she must be home for Christmas.
Series
80Episode 1Ann TricklebankHeidi Thomas18 April 2021 (2021-04-18)8.83
The year is now 1966. Trixie is seconded to the Lady Emily Clinic, a private facility in the exclusive Mayfair area of London, in preparation for Nonnatus House forming a working partnership with the clinic which it is hoped will solve the convent's financial problems. Dr Turner, a firm advocate of free treatment through the National Health Service, is strongly opposed to the proposal. The birth of a baby with no legs below the knee prompts fresh concerns about the drug thalidomide, but Dr Turner soon discovers that the father was exposed to radiation from nuclear tests while serving with the armed forces. As she continues her rehabilitation, Sister Monica Joan suffers a crisis of faith.
81Episode 2David O'NeillJonathan Harvey25 April 2021 (2021-04-25)8.48
Trixie befriends Fiona, a patient at the Lady Emily Clinic, but learns that the new mother has severe leukemia; Fiona dies shortly afterwards. Trixie is also shocked to find that abortions, still illegal at the time, are being carried out at the clinic, leading Sister Julienne to abandon plans for the partnership between the two organisations despite its potential impact on the convent's finances. Lucille and Cyril help a family who have been made homeless. Sister Frances worries that, having been a nun since the age of 17, she is too unworldly to truly understand patients' issues. Her influence, however, causes a husband to stand by his wife even though she has had a baby by another man.
82Episode 3David O'NeillDebbie O'Malley2 May 2021 (2021-05-02)8.43
Dr Turner deals with a young woman who claims she is pregnant, although tests show otherwise. She continues to claim a varying range of symptoms, which confuse Dr Turner and Sister Hilda, but is ultimately diagnosed with a psychological condition prompting her to seek medical attention she does not require. After reading a medical paper, Lucille identifies that a patient has developed the little-understood condition of latent diabetes. Shelagh proposes establishing Nonnatus House as a training centre for pupil midwifes, which would bring with it increased funding.
83Episode 4Noreen KershawHeidi Thomas9 May 2021 (2021-05-09)8.06
The pupil midwives begin their studies, including the excitable Nancy Corrigan, who is to live at Nonnatus House; on her first day of rounds her manner unsettles a patient so much that she opts for a hospital birth instead of a home delivery. Ultimately, however, Nancy proves her skills when she must take charge of the birth when the patient is unable to make it to hospital. Dr Turner and Phyllis deal with a patient who is tormented by his own homosexuality. After revealing his secret to his parents, he is rejected by them and checks into a clinic which claims to be able to cure homosexuality, where Dr Turner discovers him being subjected to harsh aversion therapy. Poplar is gripped by enthusiasm for the football World Cup; Fred misses out on a huge accumulator bet win when England win the final. Trixie attends the christening of the son of Fiona Aylward, the patient who died earlier in the year. Cyril proposes to Lucille.
84Episode 5Noreen KershawJoe Ainsworth16 May 2021 (2021-05-16)8.09
Dr Turner is concerned by the lack of development exhibited by an expectant mother's older child. A chance remark by Shelagh enables him to diagnose the very rare condition phenylketonuria. Nancy crosses swords with the controlling mother of a teenage patient, whose baby is taken away for adoption very soon after his birth, contrary to what she was expecting. Trixie spends more time with Matthew Aylward and his son. Dr Turner's son Tim gains entry to medical school at Edinburgh University, planning to follow in his father's footsteps.
85Episode 6Afia NkrumahAndrea Gibb23 May 2021 (2021-05-23)8.00
Sister Frances launches an initiative to engage more closely with the women of Poplar's Indian community, many of whom refuse to use the services of a midwife. One such patient, Mrs Gupta, is still traumatised by her experiences of violence during the partition of India. Trixie encounters Cherry, an unhappy patient who is pregnant with her fifth child and has an abusive husband; on her next visit to the clinic it is revealed that she tried to crudely abort her own baby. The case inspires Trixie to write to The Times supporting the legalisation of abortion, but the letter causes controversy. Soon afterwards, she is invited to be interviewed on a BBC radio programme. Nancy reveals her secret, that she had a baby when she was 16, who now lives in a London orphanage.
86Episode 7Thomas HescottHeidi Thomas30 May 2021 (2021-05-30)7.11
Sister Frances is horrified by the unsanitary conditions in a tenement building where one of her patients lives, and enlists the help of Violet in her role as a councillor. When the building's owner is tracked down, Trixie is surprised to find that it is Matthew Aylward and then shocked by his lack of action. Later he pledges financial aid to Nonnatus House in his wife's memory, securing the convent's future. Nancy removes her daughter from the orphanage over concerns the girl has been abused and the pair go missing for a time, but she is ultimately permitted to remain at Nonnatus House despite being an unmarried mother. A woman's baby is born with Down syndrome and her husband initially finds it hard to deal with, but an encounter with Reggie changes his view. Cyril and Lucille announce their plan to marry at Christmas in Poplar.

References[]

General
  • "Call the Midwife – Episode Guide". BBC. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
Specific
  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Plunkett, John (12 February 2013). "Call the Midwife commissioned for third series and Christmas special". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Call the Midwife". BBC. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Call The Midwife, new drama series for BBC One starring Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris and Miranda Hart". BBC. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  4. ^ Seale, Jack (12 February 2013). "Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas: TV series won't suffer when source material runs out". Radio Times. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  5. ^ Marszal, Andrew (20 February 2012). "Call the Midwife is the most-watched BBC One drama in 10 years". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  6. ^ Sweney, Mark (23 January 2012). "BBC Calls the Midwife for a second series". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  7. ^ Daniels, Colin (10 September 2012). "TVChoice Awards 2012: The winners – In full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  8. ^ "BBC Controller of Drama, Ben Stephenson, sets out his vision for drama on the BBC and announces new commissions". BBC. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  9. ^ "BBC and PBS to bring second season of critically acclaimed drama "Call the Midwife" to the U.S." PBS. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Call the Midwife gets two more series". BBC. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  11. ^ Clarke, Stewart (4 March 2019). "British Dramas 'Call the Midwife, 'Endeavour,' 'Vera' Get New Seasons". Variety. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  12. ^ "BBC announces two further series of award-winning drama Call The Midwife". BBC Media Centre. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 12 March 2013. (User must select "BBC1" in the Channel field and then select the appropriate year, month and week to retrieve the figure for each episode)
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Four-screen dashboard". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
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