The series is produced by Neal Street Productions, a production company founded and owned by the film director and producer Sam Mendes, Call the Midwife executive producer Pippa Harris, and Caro Newling. The first series, set in 1957, premiered in the United Kingdom on 15 January 2012. The series was created by Heidi Thomas, originally based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth who worked with the Community of St. John the Divine, an Anglican religious order, at their convent in the East End in London. The order was founded as a nursing order in 1849. The show's storylines have extended beyond the memoirs to include new, historically sourced material.[1] For the most part it depicts the day-to-day lives of the midwives and those in their local neighbourhood of Poplar, with certain historical events of the era having a direct or indirect effect on the characters and storylines.
Call the Midwife achieved high ratings in its first series, making it the most successful new drama series on BBC One since 2001.[2] A total of twelve annual series, of eight episodes each, have aired subsequently year-on-year, along with an annual Christmas special broadcast every Christmas Day since 2012. It is also broadcast in the United States on the PBS network; the first series started on 30 September 2012.[3]
The plot follows newly qualified midwife Jenny Lee, as well as the work of midwives and the nuns of Nonnatus House, a nursing convent and part of an Anglican religious order, coping with the medical problems in the deprived Poplar district of London's desperately poor East End in the 1950s. The Sisters and midwives carry out many nursing duties across the community. However, with between 80 and 100 babies being born each month in Poplar alone, the primary work is to help bring safe childbirth to women in the area and to look after their countless newborns.
In the first series, which is set in early 1957, the main themes include the "Baby Boom", issues of poverty in the East end and post-war immigration.
The second series, set in 1958, shows the introduction of gas and air as a form of pain relief, unexploded ordnance, an outbreak of tuberculosis, a baby born with spina bifida and ends with the condemning of the Nonnatus House building.
The third series, set in 1959, depicts cystic fibrosis, polio, caring for the terminally ill and midwifery in a prison context.
The sixth series is set in 1962 and touches on domestic violence, an explosion at the local docks, interracial marriage, female genital mutilation, mental health, and introduces Reggie, a recurring character who has Down syndrome.
The seventh series, set in 1963, introduces the first major character of colour, Nurse Lucille Anderson, as well as dementia, racial abuse, Huntington's disease, leprosy and meningitis featuring in storylines.
Set in 1965, the ninth series addresses diphtheria, a blind expectant mother and the continued role and relevance of Nonnatus House in the community.
The tenth series, set in 1966, compares the practice at Nonnatus House with the private Lady Emily Clinic in Mayfair, PKU, diabetes and the controversy of abortion on the eve of legalisation.
The eleventh series, set in 1967, explores addiction and neonatal withdrawal, the 1960s housing crisis, a scabies epidemic, gastroschisis and a train crash next to Nonnatus House.
Call the Midwife is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth (known in the show as Jenny Lee), featuring narration – and an on-screen appearance in the 2014 Christmas Special – by Vanessa Redgrave as an older Jenny.
Current cast
The current cast (as of series 13) is as follows:
Jenny Agutter as Sister Julienne, Sister-in-charge at Nonnatus House (series 1 – present)
Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan, retired nurse and midwife (series 1 – present)
Helen George as Nurse Beatrix "Trixie" Franklin (later Lady Aylward), senior nurse and midwife (series 1 – present)
Laura Main as Shelagh Turner (formerly Sister Bernadette), sister-in-charge and practice manager, at the surgery (series 1 – present)
Stephen McGann as Dr. Patrick Turner, general practitioner, clinical lead (series 1 – present)
Cliff Parisi as Fred Buckle, shopkeeper and caretaker of Nonnatus House (series 1 – present)
Max Macmillan as Timothy Turner, pre-registration house officer, (series 3–9; recurring series 2, 10 – present)
Linda Bassett as Nurse Phyllis Crane, nursing deputy sister-in-charge (series 4 – present)
Annabelle Apsion as Violet Gee (later Mayor Buckle), Haberdasher, Member of the Tower Hamlets Borough Council, (series 7 – present; recurring series 4–6)
Daniel Laurie as Reggie Jackson (series 10 – present; recurring series 5–9)
Georgie Glen as Millicent Higgins, secretary at the surgery (series 10 – present; recurring series 8–9)
Zephryn Taitte as Cyril Robinson, pupil social worker (series 10 – present; recurring series 8–9)
Olly Rix as Matthew Aylward (Later Sir Matthew (appropriate style for a baronet)), property owner, owner of Nonnatus House (series 10 – present)
Megan Cusack as Nurse Ann "Nancy" Corrigan, nurse and midwife (series 10 – present)
Rebecca Gethings as Sister Veronica, health visitor (series 12 – present)
Renee Bailey as Joyce Highland (formerly Claudine Warren), nurse and midwife (series 13 – present)
Natalie Quarry as Rosalind Clifford, nurse and midwife (series 13 – present)
Many of the exterior scenes are shot at The Historic Dockyard Chatham standing in for East London streets and buildings.[7] In the first two series, Nonnatus House was filmed at St. Joseph's Missionary College in Mill Hill, North London until the building was converted to luxury flats at which point a new Nonnatus House set was created at Longcross Studios in Surrey where sets were built for the new Nonnatus and interior sets.[8]HMS Cavalier is used for scenes on ships during the series and the order's mother house is filmed in West Wittering.[8] A reconstructed prefab house at the Chiltern Open Air Museum in Buckinghamshire has also been used as a filming location.[9]
Commissioning
On 11 February 2013, Ben Stephenson, BBC Controller for Drama, announced that he had commissioned a 2013 Christmas special, and a third series of eight episodes to be broadcast in 2014.[10] The fourth series aired in the US in 2015, finishing its eight-episode run on 17 May.[11] A Christmas special also aired in 2015.
A fifth series was commissioned for 2016, shortly after series four filming was completed.[12] A sixth series was commissioned, which included a 2016 Christmas episode set in South Africa.[13] On 23 November 2016, the BBC announced a three-year deal with Neal Street Productions, commissioning a seventh, eighth, and ninth series, each with a Christmas special.[14] On 4 March 2019, the BBC announced it had commissioned two further series and Christmas specials, through to an eleventh series in 2022, moving the plot into the late-sixties.[15][16]
On 13 April 2021 – five days before series 10 was due to start broadcasting on BBC One and with the 11th series about to begin filming – the BBC announced that two more series had been commissioned, keeping the show on air until 2024. Series 12 and 13 will each comprise eight one-hour episodes as well as a Christmas special.[17] In February 2023, the BBC announced it commissioned two more series of nine episodes (including Christmas Specials) moving the story into 1971, keeping the show on air until 2026.[18]
Soundtrack
For the first three series of the programme, the score and the title theme used were composed by Peter Salem; since series four, the music has been composed by Maurizio Malagnini. The orchestral score, mainly comprising strings and piano accompanies the emotional moments of the series, with Malagnini calling it a diary of the emotions of the series, while more upbeat moments are often accompanied by music appropriate to the setting year. The score was performed by the London Chamber Orchestra.[19][20]
There have been two albums released with music from the series: a 2012 released Call the Midwife: The Album consisting of period appropriate songs and score tracks from the first series by Salem and a second Call the Midwife: Original Soundtrack Album released in 2018 featuring highlights from Malagnini's score from series 4–7.[19][21]
Release
Broadcast
In May 2012, BBC Worldwide and the American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) announced that the first series of Call the Midwife would premiere in the United States on 30 September 2012.[22] BBC Worldwide also sold the programme to SVT (Sweden); NRK (Norway); RÚV (Iceland); Yle (Finland); AXN White (Spain; Portugal); ERT (Greece);[23][24]ABC in Australia and TVNZ 1 in New Zealand, where its debut recorded a 35% share of the audience – 20% above average. In July 2012, BBC Worldwide announced it sold the global Video on Demand rights of the programme to Netflix, while all episodes are also on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
The second series of Call the Midwife was sold to PBS for transmission from 31 March 2013[25] and to SVT (Sweden) for transmission from 19 May 2013.[26] In February 2013, BBC Worldwide reported that Call the Midwife had been sold in over one hundred global territories,[27] with global sales contributing to the UK's position as the second largest TV exporter behind the United States.[28] In February 2017, it was reported that the BBC had exported Call the Midwife to 237 global territories.[29]
A second series of eight episodes aired in the UK in early 2013.[30][31] The series achieved a consolidated series average of 10.47 million viewers.[32] A third eight-part series aired in the UK from January 2014,[33] with a consolidated average of 10.53 million.[32]
On 28 February 2014, BBC confirmed that Call the Midwife had been commissioned for a 2014 Christmas special[34] and fourth series, to air in 2015.[35] On 3 November 2014, BBC announced that an eight-episode fifth series had been commissioned; it began airing on 17 January 2016; the fifth series takes the story into 1961.[36] The sixth series began airing in the UK on 22 January 2017, taking the drama into 1962.[37] Series seven, again consisting of eight episodes, began airing on Sunday, 21 January 2018, with episode one viewed by 9.87 million viewers.[38] It was the No.1 rated programme on UK TV for all weeks of its transmission, ending 11 March 2018.[38] The eighth series premiered on 13 January 2019.[39]
Home media
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The first series was released in a Region 2, two-disc set on 12 March 2012.[40] Series two was released on 1 April 2013 in the UK (region 2)[41] with a collector's edition, Call the Midwife Collection, containing series one, two, and the 2012 Christmas Special, released on the same date.[42]
In the United States, the first series was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 6 November 2012. Series two was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 18 June 2013.[43] Series three was released on Blu-ray on 20 May 2014.[44] Series four was released on Blu-ray on 19 May 2015.[45]
Reception
Critical response
A second series was immediately commissioned after the opening episode attracted an audience of nearly 10 million viewers. The second episode increased its audience to 10.47 million, while the third continued the climb to 10.66. Episode four's rating reached 10.89 million.
In the United States, the series one transmission on PBS drew an average household audience rating of 2.1, translating into three million viewers – 50 per cent above PBS's primetime average for the 2011–12 series.[46] The autumn 2012 PBS broadcast of the first series received widespread critical acclaim, earning a Metacritic score of 8.0. The Wall Street Journal declared that "this immensely absorbing drama is worth any trouble it takes to catch up with its singular pleasures",[47] while The Washington Post stated that "the cast is marvelous, the gritty, post-war set pieces are meticulously recreated".[48]TV Guide called the series "a delight to watch",[49] while the San Francisco Chronicle described it as "sentimental, poignant and often heartbreaking".[50] Maane Khatchatourian of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Just what the doctor ordered."[51]
The second series opened with a record overnight audience of 9.3 million UK viewers,[52] going on to achieve a consolidated series average of 10.47 million viewers.[32] This was almost 2 million above the slot average, and by some distance the most popular UK drama in every week of transmission.[53] When viewing figures from BBC's iPlayer video streaming service and a narrative repeat were included as part of the BBC Live Plus 7 metric,[54] the total number of viewers per week was found to be almost 12 million.[55]
Caitlin Moran in The Times called this "an iron hand in a velvet glove",[56] while Allison Pearson in The Daily Telegraph lauded its ability to "tickle the middle of the brow while touching the most anguished parts of the human condition".[57] In particular, commentators have noted the attention given to female social issues in the drama's post-war, pre-pill setting. Alison Graham in the Radio Times dubbed Call the Midwife "a magnificently subversive drama" and "the torchbearer of feminism on television,"[58] while Caitlin Moran claimed the series encapsulated "how unbelievably terrifying, dreary and vile it was to be a working-class woman 60 years ago."[56]
After the departure of Jessica Raine as Jenny Lee at the end of the third series, Jennifer Worth's family stated that Call The Midwife no longer resembled Worth's stories.[59] Heidi Thomas, however, described how she'd received a specific blessing from Jennifer Worth to continue the series,[60] and had enjoyed a fruitful collaboration on future plans before the author's death.[61]
In October 2023, a group of academics suggested that the show should come with a health warning due to the depiction of 'inaccurate' birthing practices.[62] The production responded that the series was a period drama, not a documentary, and "highly accurate to the time it depicts".[63]
^Πρόγραμμα Τηλεόρασης [NET program on Tuesday 16 October 2012] (in Greek). ERT online. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
^Επειγόντως τη μαμή [The midwife, urgently] (in Greek). ERT online. Archived from the original on 23 November 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
