Call the Midwife Christmas Special Filming in South Africa

LONDON: Filming has begun in South Africa on a Call the Midwife Christmas special for 2016, alongside eight new episodes of the series to come in 2017.

Made by Neal Street Productions for BBC One, the sixth season will be filmed on location at the historic Chatham dockyard, London’s East End, and Call the Midwife’s studio base in Chertsey, Surrey. The Christmas special will be filmed on location near Cape Town, South Africa.

Sinead Cusack joins the Christmas special cast, playing Dr Myra Fitzsimmons who runs the threatened Hope Clinic. Regular cast currently filming near Cape Town are Jenny Agutter (Sister Julienne), Linda Bassett (Nurse Crane), Victoria Yeates (Sister Winifred), Laura Main (Shelagh Turner), Stephen McGann (Dr Turner), Jack Ashton (Tom), Helen George (Trixie), Charlotte Ritchie (Barbara) and Cliff Parisi (Fred). Miranda Hart (Chummy) makes an appearance in the Christmas special, and returns to Nonnatus House for the new season.

Pippa Harris, executive producer, said: “With our Christmas special set against the dramatic backdrop of South Africa, and the return of our beloved Chummy to Poplar, series six is shaping up to be our strongest yet. It’s a testament to the great skill of Heidi Thomas’s writing that the series continues to evolve, whilst maintaining its hugely popular mix of social history, babies, laughter and tears.”

Heidi Thomas, creator, writer and executive producer, added: “My passion for the world and characters of Call the Midwife grows stronger with each passing year. Every season brings new stories, new challenges and new triumphs—yet each one feels like a return to a much-loved home, and series six will be no exception. As the team settle back into Poplar after their South African adventure, we‘ll see them grappling with all the contradictions and opportunities of the early ’60s—the beacon of the Pill, the shadow of the Kray twins, the lure of independence and the call to duty. And time and time again, in an age of change and danger, we will be reminded of the simple power of love.”