Call the Midwife Christmas special 2023 is here, and the festive season of 1968 proves to be a busy one for hard-working nurse and single mother Nancy.
The episode, airing on BBC One and PBS on Christmas Day promises to be a Christmas TV highlight and finds the midwife, played by Megan Cusack, moving her daughter Colette [Francesca Fullilove] into Nonnatus House so that they can at last live together. Meanwhile, Nancy also helps to treat two anxious mums-to-be, and, as ever, things don’t go quite to plan in a snowy Poplar…
Here, Megan Cusack reveals what is in store in the Call the Midwife Christmas episode…
What does Christmas bring for Nancy?
“There are lots of different facets to Christmas for Nancy. She has a full plate but she seems to manage it! There's Nancy as a midwife and Nancy as a mum, which is lovely, because she moves her daughter Colette [Francesca Fullilove] into Nonnatus House in a little bedsit.”
Was it lovely to see their new bedsit?
“Yes, the flat was decorated beautifully by the art department. We weren't allowed to see it beforehand until they filmed us going in there for the first time. That was very sweet, Francesca – who is amazing! – had a great time and you see that real surprised look on our faces. It’s gorgeous!”
Tell us about the babies that are due at Christmas…
“There are two lovely mothers in the episode. For one of them, it's been a rocky road for her to get there. There are some lovely scenes between the two mums. And then we have a moment where some babies come a little bit too quickly…”
The team also rally round to lay on a festive pick-me-up for Sister Monica Joan, what can you reveal?
“Sister Monica Joan is being morbid about her time left on the planet and Nancy and Colette come up with something to gee up her spirits, which is nice. Colette really steps up to the plate. It’s lovely how that relationship develops between Sister Monica Joan and Colette.
“But what is planned is something very different… I was just delighted there was no singing involved. Last year [when the locals took part in ‘Poplartunity Knocks’ and Nancy sang] I hated it!”
What would you give Nancy for Christmas?
“I'd get Nancy something nice that her and Colette would like, maybe a year's supply of cinema tickets so they could go to the pictures every weekend when she's got time off.”
And do you have any festive traditions?
“Unless the weather has made the sea too rocky, we'll go for a swim in the morning. And also, we always do stockings in bed. There's midnight mass on Christmas Eve too, which is actually often at 8pm because our priest has to get round the other parish churches!”
Call the Midwife airs on Christmas Day on BBC One at 8.15pm and in the US on PBS at 8pm ET.
