Call the Midwife is back – with faces old and new. From Nurse Trixie Franklin to Nurse Phyllis Crane, Nonnatus House’s most experienced midwives return for series seven and we’ll see plenty of familiar characters: Reggie, Fred, Violet, Dr Turner, Shelagh and Sister Julienne, to name but a few.
- Call the Midwife only uses real newborns for its birth scenes – but how do they cope with all the babies?
- Who is Leonie Elliott? Meet the star playing Call the Midwife’s new nurse Lucille Anderson
- Call the Midwife: Will Barbara and Tom be back for series seven?
But there will also be newcomers in Poplar, including Nurse Lucille Anderson who arrives in the middle of a blizzard.
Creator Heidi Thomas has lined up some excellent guest stars throughout the series too.
Here are all the characters you need to meet, and where you’ve seen the actors before.
Leonie Elliott – Nurse Lucille Anderson
Who does she play? Newcomer Nurse Lucille Anderson is the first-ever West Indian midwife to feature in the BBC1 drama. Funny and clever, she will soon settle in to life in Poplar, bonding with the rest of the midwives and bringing a “fresh new energy” to Nonnatus House.
Where have I seen her before? Leonie Elliott is best known for her role in Black Mirror episode Hated in the Nation, where she played Fiona. She has also recently been in Casualty, Boogie Man and Damned, and in 2015 she featured in Lenny Henry’s BBC comedy drama Danny and the Human Zoo. As a child actress she appeared on stage in The Lion King and Annie.
Helen George – Nurse Trixie Franklin
Who does she play? Nurse Trixie is one of the most experienced midwives at Nonnatus House. Always well-groomed and fashionable with perfectly-applied lipstick and eyeliner, she can be flirty and fun. She has previously battled an alcohol addiction. In series six she met divorced dentist Christopher Dockerill and started a relationship.
Where have I seen her before? Helen George joined Call the Midwife right at the very beginning. She has appeared in Red Dwarf, Doctors and Hotel Babylon, and in 2015 she starred in Strictly Come Dancing where she waltzed her way to sixth place with Aljaz Skorjanec. Helen actually fell in love on the set of Call the Midwife and began dating her co-star Jack Ashton (who plays Reverend Tom): she gave birth to their daughter, Wren, in September 2017.
Jennifer Kirby – Nurse Valerie Dyer
Who does she play? Valerie is a Poplar native who previously served in the army as a nurse before returning home to work as a barmaid in East London. She’s a relatively recent addition to Nonnatus House and hasn’t really opened up yet.
Where have I seen her before? Jennifer Kirby made her TV breakthrough in Call the Midwife, but she also had an impressive stage career with the Royal Shakespeare Company before joining the BBC1 drama.
Jenny Agutter – Sister Julienne
Who does she play? Good-hearted, softly-spoken Sister Julienne! She runs the show at Nonnatus House and is highly respected by her team of midwives.
Where have I seen her before? Jenny Agutter OBE began her career as a child actress in 1964 in East of Sudan, followed by Star! and The Railway Children – which became a classic movie. She went on to appear in An American Werewolf In London and Logan’s Run, and won an Emmy for her role in The Snow Goose in 1971. She has also picked up a Bafta for playing Jill Mason in the 1977 film Equus. Having quit Hollywood in the 1990s, she moved home to Britain and appeared in The Railway Children again – this time as the mother. In the past few years she has popped up in Monday Monday, Queen of the Desert, and The Invisibles.
Charlotte Ritchie – Nurse Barbara Hereward
Who does she play? Nurse Barbara is a beloved member of of the team of midwives at Nonnatus House, even if she doesn’t actually live there any more: in series six she married Reverend Tom Hereward and they are now settling into their lives as newlyweds. At the end of the Christmas special she and her husband made a big life decision: they would move to Birmingham for six months so Tom could work as a curate at a church called Saint Dionysius.
Where have I seen her before? Before she became Barbara, Charlotte Ritchie starred in Fresh Meat as Oregon and Hannah in Siblings. She is also a singer-songwriter and a member of the classical crossover band All Angels. She took a break from filming series seven of Call the Midwife to perform in the UK tour of Noel Coward’s Private Lives.
Jack Ashton – Reverend Tom Hereward
Who does he play? Earnest Tom made quite the impression when he first arrived in Poplar. He initially had a romance with Trixie and they were engaged to be married, but she broke it off and he started dating her colleague Barbara Gilbert. That proved to be a better fit: the pair are now happily married. And off to Birmingham.
Where have I seen him before? Jack Ashton joined the cast in series three. He previously appeared in Broadchurch, Endeavour and Holby City, and – in real life – he’s going out with Trixie actress Helen George.
Laura Main – Shelagh Turner
Who does she play? Shelagh Turner is an extremely capable, caring woman who helps her husband run his doctor’s surgery. She has just given birth to a baby boy, Teddy.
Where have I seen her before? Scottish actress Laura Main first appeared on the stage at the age of 11 in a production of The Sound of Music. Her career has mainly been in theatre, but she featured as DC Alison Bain in ITV’s Murder City and played Rebecca Howlett in TV mini-series The Mill.
Stephen McGann – Dr Patrick Turner
Who does he play? Dr Turner is a dedicated doctor and a family man: he has a teenage son and a new baby boy.
Where have I seen him before? In real life, Stephen McGann is actually married to Call the Midwife creator and screenwriter Heidi Thomas. Like Dr Turner he’s a man of science, having studied for a Masters in Science Communication. He previously spent three years in Emmerdale playing Sean Reynolds.
Linda Bassett – Nurse Phyllis Crane
Who does she play? Nurse Phyllis Crane is a bit of a battleaxe – in a good way. She is dogged and dedicated to her job as a midwife.
Where have I seen her before? Linda Basset was nominated for a Best Actress Bafta for her performance as Ella Khan in the 1999 film East Is East. Her past TV credits include period dramas Sense and Sensibility and Lark Rise to Candleford, and on the big screen she has been in The Reader and Calendar Girls.
Judy Parfitt – Sister Monica Joan
Who does she play? Monica Joan was one of the first women to qualify as a midwife in Britain. Now retired and suffering from dementia, she lives at Nonnatus House where her former colleagues lovingly care for her. She serves as a mentor to the team of midwives, but is increasingly distressed at her limitations.
Where have I seen her before? Judy Parfitt has been nominated for a Bafta twice in her long career: she played Maria Thins in Girl With A Pearl Earring, and Mildred Layton in The Jewel In The Crown. In recent years she has starred in Up The Women, The Game, and Little Dorrit. The 82-year-old has been in Call The Midwife since the first time she opened the doors of Nonnatus House to welcome us inside.
Victoria Yeates – Sister Winifred
Who does she play? Former teacher Sister Winifred lived most of her life in the countryside and previously worked at a small cottage hospital in a rural town. Innocent and warm-hearted, she was initially shocked by Poplar but has now grown in confidence. Her views can be quite conservative and old-fashioned.
Where have I seen her before? Victoria Yeates joined Call the Midwife back in series three. She’s just about to make her big-screen debut in Fantastic Beasts 2, playing a character called Bunty.
Cliff Parisi – Fred Buckle
Who does he play? Handyman Fred is always a friendly face to see around Nonnatus House. He is married to Violet and they have recently been joined by orphaned young man Reggie, who has Down’s Syndrome.
Where have I seen him before? EastEnders fans will recognise Cliff Parisi as Rick “Minty” Peterson, a role he held for eight years. He went on to appear in Hollyoaks, Outnumbered and Midsomer Murders, but since 2012 he has been a regular face in Call the Midwife.
Annabelle Apison – Violet Buckle
Who does she play? Widowed shopkeeper Violet married Fred in series four. These days they have a new lease of life after adding Reggie to the family. She is deeply involved in the local community.
Where have I seen her before? Annabelle Apison is better known as Monica Gallagher from Shameless. More recently she’s appeared in The Halcyon, The Village and Doc Martin.
Daniel Laurie – Reggie Jackson
Who does he play? Reggie first appeared in series six when the nuns at Nonnatus House stepped in to help him: his mother had recently died, leaving him orphaned. He has Down’s Syndrome and now lives with Fred and Violet Buckle, helping Fred at work.
Where have I seen him before? Actor Daniel Laurie starred in Sky1 comedy Stella as Jamie – and led the cast of the Radio 4 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Barnaby Rudge back in 2014.
Trevor Cooper – Sergeant Woolf
Who does he play? Sergeant Woolf is officious and gruff and slightly patronising – but he may have met his match in Nurse Crane, who gives as good as she gets.
Where have I seen him before? Trevor Cooper was a big hit as Len Clifton in the BBC3 comedy This Country. The series is written and created by his niece Daisy and nephew Charlie Cooper and also stars his brother Paul, so it’s a real family affair. His other credits include Doctor Who, Outnumbered and Inside No 9.
Christopher Dockerill – Jack Hawkins
Who does he play? Nurse Trixie Franklin’s new boyfriend is Christopher, a dashing divorced dentist. He arrived in series six and immediately fell for Nonnatus House’s most glamorous nurse. He has a young daughter.
Where have I seen him before? Jack Hawkins has played Alex Lambert in Holby City and Mr Bancroft in Harlots.
Timothy Turner – Max MacMillan
Who does he play? Timothy is the Turners’ eldest child. Now an awkward teenager, he has developed a strong interest in the fairer sex. He is intelligent, hard working and conscientious.
Where have I seen him before? Max MacMillan has grown up on the show: his character was only 11 years old when he joined.
Who are the guest stars in Call the Midwife series seven?
Scarlett Alice Johnson plays Olive Mawson (Episode 8)
Olive Mawson calls Nonnatus House when she starts to experience contractions and worries she has gone into labour, but they’re only Braxton Hicks contractions. Still, she is quite distressed: Mrs Mawson has recently separated from her cheating husband and moved back in with her widowed father, which has thrown up a few surprises.
Scarlett Alice Johnson played Vicki Fowler in EastEnders. She’s also starred as Laura Derbyshire in the sitcom Pramface, and played Paula in Loaded.
David Bamber plays Stanley Hodgkiss (Episode 8)
Stanley, who meets Sister Monica Joan while working as a cinema projectionist, is the father of Olive Mawson. His pregnant daughter has moved back home after her husband’s affair, but it’s not all smooth sailing in the Hodgkiss household as “uncle” Donald becomes more and more confused.
David Bamber will be a familiar face for TV fans. He’s played the Duke of Sussex in Victoria, Pope Eugene IV in Medici: Masters of Florence, and the Earl of Northumberland in Gunpowder. Other credits include Doctor Who, Father Brown, The King’s Speech, Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders and Death in Paradise.
David Calder plays Donald (Episode 8)
Donald comes to the attention of the midwives and doctors when he arrives at a pregnant mother’s house in quite a state of confusion, and then goes wandering around the streets in just his boxers. But there’s more going on here than a straightforward case of dementia.
David Calder, 71, has spent a life on stage and on screen. Recently he has appeared in The Hatton Garden Job, Inside No 9, Motherland, The Lost City of Z, and The Lady in the Van.
Barbara Smith plays young mum Josie (Episode 8)
Cheeky Josie is a pregnant teenager who initially clashes with Nurse Phyllis Crane.
Barbara Smith has previously appeared on TV as Suki Stock in Doctors.
Alisha Bailey plays Alecia Palmer (Episode 7)
Mrs Palmer is the mother of a one week old baby, and is from Jamaica – just like Nurse Anderson. Her husband is a reverend and they hold religious services at their house for the West Indian community.
Alisha Bailey plays Heather in the Lennie James and Suranne Jones Sky Atlantic drama Save Me. She’s also been in Chewing Gum, CB Strike, and Doctor Who – as Isabella in the episode The Vampires of Venice.
Aaron Thomas Ward plays Michael Sumpter (Episode 7)
Dr Turner meets Michael Sumpter at Wadelock House, a remand home – that is, a place where juvenile offenders are temporarily detained. Michael may be only the same age as Timothy Turner, but he’s already married with a baby on the way. He has no family of his own, is being attacked and bullied by the other boys, and is facing jail time.
This is one of Aaron Thomas Ward’s first TV roles. He also played Romeo in action movie Accident Man.
Lauren Coe plays Alison Wetherley (Episode 7)
Alison is a pregnant teenager living in Poplar. Officially she is Mrs Sumpter, because her mother couldn’t stand the thought of a bastard child in the family and gave permission for her to marry the father of the child, Michael.
You may remember Lauren Coe as the maid, Kate, from The Halcyon. Her other credits include Troy: Fall of a City and The Importance of Being Whatever.
Alexia Traverse-Healy plays Sadie Wetherley (Episode 7)
Mrs Wetherley is extremely concerned about what people will think of her, especially now her teenage daughter Alison is pregnant. She is overbearing and dismissive.
Alexia Traverse-Healy appears in Colin Firth movie The Mercy as Francoise Moitessier. She’s also been in SS-GB, Holby City, and Girl Meets World.
Kelly Campbell plays widowed Irish shopkeeper Pearl Davidson (Episode 6)
Pregnant mother-of-two Pearl Davidson comes to Poplar with her husband in episode 6. Husband and wife are looking for a fresh start: leaving their lives behind in Northern Island, they plan to open up a newsagents in East London. But on the day they arrive, disaster strikes for the Davidson family.
Kelly Campbell plays Ingvild in the TV series Vikings. She also appeared in The Fall as Dr Morton.
Tasmin Topolski plays traumatised pregnant mother Eunice Dobson (Episode 5)
It becomes clear that mother-of-one Eunice is suffering from a fear of childbirth – a mental disorder that has since become known as tokophobia. After the traumatic birth of her first son she is determined that this baby is not coming out and that’s the end of it. Eunice is terrified, avoiding clinic and yelling at midwives and doctors who want to help her.
Tamsin Topolski previously starred in Penny Dreadful as Lavinia Putney. Since then she has appeared in Silent Witness and Strike.
Beth Goddard plays unsympathetic mother-in-law Pamela (Episode 5)
Pamela simply can’t understand what’s wrong with her daughter-in-law and is completely unsympathetic, telling her to puller herself together and get on with it.
Beth Goddard recently appeared in Outlander as Lady Louisa Dunsany. Her other credits include Silent Witness, Endeavour, Casualty and Cucumber.
Jordan Peters plays Nigerian “smallpox patient” Ade Babayaro (Episode 5)
Ade Babayaro sparks a panic in Poplar when he arrives with a suspected case of smallpox. Afraid of the mob and aware of the danger of contagion, he goes into hiding.
Jordan Peters recently graduated from drama school LAMDA.
Balvinder Sopal plays first wife Mumtaz Gani (Episode 4)
Mumtaz Gani is the co-owner of a factory in East London with her husband, Saddiq. The two were brought together in an arranged marriage when they were only teenagers, but they have grown up together and developed a strong bond. Now Mumtaz, who has been unable to conceive a child, is shocked to find their families have arranged for him to bring a second wife to England – and she is pregnant.
Balvinder Sopal has played PC Marks in Coronation Street, and recently appeared as a social worker in Hollyoaks.
Aasiya Shah plays pregnant second wife Parveen (Episode 4)
Parveen is a 15-year-old who has recently been “married” to her cousin’s husband by their families in Pakistan. She is pregnant, and now she is in an unfamiliar land, living with her husband Saddiq and his first wife Mumtaz in London.
Aasiya Shah played Gemma Khan in Unforgotten.
Simon Rivers plays husband Saddiq Gani (Episode 4)
Saddiq Gani and his wife Mumtaz are co-owners of a factory in London’s East End. They were married as teenagers in Pakistan and came to the UK together. Recently he returned to Pakistan, where he entered into a second arranged marriage with his wife’s young cousin.
Simon Rivers spent three years starring as Dr Kevin Tyler in the TV series Doctors. Since then he has appeared in Girlfriends, No Offence and Where the Skin Lies.
Nina Yndis plays au pair Magda (Episodes 2 and 3)
Formidable and beautiful Hungarian Magda arrives at the Turner household to be the family’s first-ever au pair. Teenager Timothy is delighted and Dr Turner seems pleased, but Shelagh has her reservations…
Nina Yndis has appeared in X Company, Peaky Blinders and Five by Five.
Kelly Gough plays struggling mother Doreen Lunt (Episode 3)
There’s something wrong with Mrs Lunt, but no one knows quite what. She can no longer keep the house clean, cook or look after her children, and now she is pregnant with her third child.
We’ve seen Kelly Gough in Strike Back, The Fall and Broadchurch – as Laura Benson.
Ava Potter plays her daughter Wendy Lunt (Episode 3)
Wendy seems to stumble around in a daze, and her arms and legs are covered in bruises. She is constantly falling over and bumping into things. What is going on with the Lunt family and how can the midwives help?
Ava Potter has performed some voice work for Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Josef Davies and Bronté Barbé play first-time parents Allan and Janet (Episode 2)
In episode two we meet Janet, who proudly boasts about her husband Allan in her Mothercraft classes. But when the midwife invites the father-to-be to join the class for one week only, things don’t go entirely to plan.
Josef Davies appeared in the play Hangmen alongside David Morrissey and Johnny Flynn, while fellow theatre actor Bronté Barbé’s credits include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Wild Party, Shrek the Musical, and Hairspray. She was a finalist in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Over the Rainbow.
Maggie O’Neill plays fierce mum Mae Stanton (Episode 2)
Mae Stanton is one of Nurse Valerie Dyer’s family friends. She runs a local hairdressers in the West End as a family business, employing her daughter Marjory who is about to give birth to her third child. Mae is a proud and fierce woman who hates her son-in-law Dennis and regards Nurse Lucille Anderson with suspicion because of her skin colour.
Maggie O’Neill is known for her roles in Peak Practice, Shameless and EastEnders. A veteran TV actress, she has recently appeared in Unforgotten, The Halcyon and Sexy Murder.
Sophie Austin plays mother Marjory Chivvers (Episode 2)
Marjory Chiyvers is married to Dennis and works in her mother’s hairdressers. When we meet her she is just about to give birth to her third child – but not everything goes to plan.
Sophie Austin is best known as Lindsey Butterfield from Hollyoaks. She recently appeared in the ITV series Tina and Bobby as Judith Hurst.
Paul Longley plays Marjory’s husband Dennis Chivvers (Episode 2)
Dennis Chivvers is a loving husband to Marjory, but seems utterly incapable of standing up to his mother-in-law Mae.
Paul Longley has made a handful of TV appearances, playing a footman in the first series of The Crown, a soldier in the movie Allied, and Rob in Lovesick.
Tamla Kari plays pregnant stripper Nadine (Episode 1)
Best known for her role as Constance Bonacieux in the BBC series The Musketeers, Tamla Kari has also played Lucy in The Inbetweeners Movie and The Inbetweeners 2. She recently played Violet in Young Hyacinth, a prequel to Keeling Up Appearances.
Emma Stansfield plays mean boss Sonia (Episode 1)
Best known for her stage work, Emma Stansfield has appeared in Coronation Street, Skins, The Tudors, Jamie Johnson, Doctors, and Father Brown.
Susanna Wise plays Jewish daughter Hilary (Episode 1)
Susanna Wise played Linda Callaghan in Marcella. She has appeared in EastEnders, Peep Show and The Time Of Your Life.
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