Call the Midwife star Helen George has warned fans that the show “won’t be the same” when it returns for season 16, as she teased the departure of several characters.
Following the season 15 finale on BBC One on 8 March, the beloved show is set to take a short break, returning for season 16 sometime in 2027.
For the first year since 2021, Call the Midwife won’t be back on our screens for a Christmas special, with the prequel series confirmed to replace it.
After previously saying viewers “will be a mess” over the finale, George has now explained what will change as the show takes a break before returning for another instalment.
Speaking about the filming schedule, George said that April will be an especially emotional time to navigate for the cast as they won’t go back to set.
“We’ve all been saying that we’ll feel it most in April because that’s when we usually start filming,” the Trixie star told Radio Times. “So when that comes around and we don’t, we won’t have the support network and community that work has given us.”
“Apart from that first year, we’ve always known at the end of filming that we’d see each other again,” added Nurse Shelagh Turner star Laura Main.
Olly Courtney//BBC
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She continued: “Even that first year, we found out after the second episode that the show would be coming back. We’ve had rare and lovely stability for 15 years. We’ve never had to be upset at the end before.”
“And it is just a pause because we know it’s coming back,” George added. “But it won’t be the same, with different characters leaving and whatever.”
PHOTOGRAPHER:Luke Ross//BBC
Created by Heidi Thomas, the long-running series follows the midwives of Nonnatus House in London’s East End across different decades. As season 15 hinted at a possible relocation for the midwifery unit, Thomas assured that the finale would give fans more clues about where the Nonnatus gang will end up.
Meanwhile, a prequel series taking place during World War II is expected to premiere later this year, while a 1972-set movie is also in the works.
Call the Midwife airs on BBC One and streams on BBC iPlayer.
Read more Call the Midwife news on our dedicated homepage.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).