Call the Midwife season 14 has reunited us with all our Nonnatus House favorites as we arrive in 1070s Poplar for more twists, turns and, of course, expectant mothers and babies!
The Call the Midwife Christmas specials 2024 kickstarted the new series in style with Trixie returning from New York, Reggie going missing and panic for Nonnatus House as the building's future was thrown into jeopardy. Now we have reached the spring of 1970 and we have a new midwife arriving at Nonnatus House.
Here is everything that happened in Call the Midwife season 14 episode 7...
The penultimate episode opens in October 1970 and Phyllis is returning from her holiday in Devon, but on the way home she has a puncture in her car tyre. Luckily, Miss Higgins is on hand to offer her a lift to work, and she is thrilled when Phyllis reveals she has bought her some fudge back from her holidays.
Things aren't quite as happy for Joyce, however, as she reveals she has been given a date for her disciplinary hearing. It seems Bernie Midgley's complaint has been upheld but Sister Julienne vows to fight it every step of the way. She tells Joyce that Doctor Turner and Sister Catherine will both make witness statements and that she will be there to give her a glowing character reference.
Cyril comes to Fred's shop to ask if he sells shoelaces. He explains he needs to look smart because he is going to a film premiere for Bronco Bullfrog, and there will be royalty there as Princess Anne is also attending. Fred says he and Violet are also going as the movie was filmed in Poplar, and when he asks Cyril how many tickets he has got, he says two but remains tight-lipped about who will be his plus one.
Mr and Mrs Berridge - Jacqui and Lawrence - come to the antenatal clinic with their young daughter, but Jacqui has low blood pressure and her baby is small for the dates she has given them. Jacqui fobs them off and leaves the clinic without giving a urine sample, but Shelagh is worried and tells Sister Catherine that Jacqui and her husband, Lawrence, both used to take heroin in the past and that it might have something do to with the baby being small and her reluctance to do a urine sample. They decide to do a house call the next day to make sure they check Jacqui properly.
Ellen Brisco's son, Mark, comes to see Violet and asks for his mother's order of hygiene pads, and as he arrives home he seems happy to see Phyllis has come for a house visit after Ellen swapped her old GP back to Doctor Turner again after leaving a few years earlier.
Lawrence attends a clinic with Doctor Turner who has got him on a programme where he is taking methadone to try and beat his heroin addiction. Lawrence talks about how he and Jacqui have got themselves a new council house and have a second baby on the way, and he seems happy and collects his methadone for the week. He thanks Doctor Turner for putting him on the programme as he didn't think he would be here a year ago.
At the house, Sister Catherine and Shelagh visit Jacqui and when they go to take her blood pressure they find that she has marks on her arm where she has been taking heroin. She claims to be fine, but they know she is lying but eventually, she admits the truth and says she has been hiding the fact she is using again from her husband.
Nurse Crane visits Ellen who says she can't walk to the toilet so that is why she has a commode... Phyllis comments on what a lovely son she has, and Ellen is shocked when she suggests that one day Mark will get married and move out. Ellen is adamant that her son will live with her forever, even when he meets a wife.
Doctor Turner meets Jacqui and tells her that because she has been taking drugs while she has been pregnant her baby will be born accustomed to having heroin in its bloodstream. He wants to help by giving her controlled injections of a different opioid so that they can wean her and the baby off the heroin gently, but Jacqui is adamant she doesn't want any more drugs in her system and she will go cold turkey like she did before. Doctor Turner is concerned that she won't accept the help and it isn't long until Lawrence finds out what his wife has been up to, and he is upset that she lied, especially when he has been working hard to get clean for their daughter, Kerry.
Rosalind and Cyril meet in a cafe and admit to one another that they have been looking forward to their date all day - he asks her along to the Bronco Bullfrog film gala and she is thrilled.
There are celebrations in the Turner house that evening because the final adoption papers are through for May and Shelagh and Patrick will be going to the magistrates court the following day to sign them, meaning May will officially be adopted at last.
Violet gets a call from the Gazette and is shocked to learn that the Bronco Bullfrog movie doesn't paint Poplar in the glowing light that everyone thought it would, and she invites Trixie along, trying to get as many respectable residents of the local area at the premiere as possible.
Sister Julienne calls Sister Catherine into her office and says she has spoken to their Superior, Mother Mildred, and they have decided that they would like her to take her first vows and become a novice in the order. She is thrilled and can't wait to join the order.
Mark goes for a medical check with Doctor Turner becasue he is applying for the Royal Army Medical Corps - telling Doctor Turner he has always had an interest in nursing becasue of looking after his mum. Nurse Crane is surprised to see Mark at the surgery and he begs her not to tell his mum, as he hasn't yet told her about joining the army. When Nurse Crane gets to Ellen's later that day, she has to let herself in with the key on a string because Mark is out, but when she gets through the front door she sees Ellen up and walking about, despite having claimed she was bed-bound. When Phyllis asks her about being up and about, Ellen denies knowing what she is talking about.
Jacqui is at the hospital struggling with her withdrawal from heroin - but as she gets further into her struggle Sister Catherine and Shelagh realise she is also in labour. She refuses to have gas and air becasue she doesn't want any more drugs, but when her waters break Shelagh realises there is meconium in the waters, meaning the baby is in distress.
Jacqui has a baby boy, and although it is touch and go when he is not breathing, Doctor Turner works his magic and soon he is crying like a newborn should. Jacqui is upset when Shelagh tells her that the baby has to go to St Cuthberts becasue of his drug dependency. She tells her husband, Lawrence, that she would like to call their baby Michael after her estranged dad, and he is reluctant but agrees. As Michael is taken away, Jacqui is sad she has to stay at the maternity home where she needs looking after as she is still battling her own drug dependency.
Cyril finds Joyce at the docs where she is down about the case against her. He says he is sorry about what she is going through and that it sounds like a clear case of racial prejudice to him, and they both share their struggles with coming the the UK and the difficulties they have faced since they arrived becasue of the colour of their skin.
Mark brings his mum to the surgery, but she makes a big scene about getting down the stairs and into the taxi, pretending that she can't walk. When they get to the surgery, she refuses to get out of the taxi, so Doctor Turner, having been briefed by Phyllis, tells Ellen he will have to examine her in the taxi if needs be.
Doctor Turner tells Ellen that there is no reason why she can't walk and she gets distressed, telling Mark that everyone is calling her a liar and ignoring her symptoms. But Doctor Turner is adamant she doesn't have any symptoms and encourages Mark to tell his mother about his army interview the following day so that it might make her realise she can't depend on him all the time.
Catherine is shocked when she gets to Jacqui's room and finds she has gone. Miss Higgins calls the hospital and finds that Jacqui has been seen leaving St Cuthberts with her husband, but that baby Michael is in the special care baby unit, where he should be.
Sister Catherine is struggling with everything that has happened with Jacqui and the fact her family cut her off because of the path she chose, just like Sister Catherine's own family did when she became a nun. She is sorry that her calling from God has caused her family so much pain, but Sister Monica Joan is on hand to reassure her that she is doing the right thing.
While Trixie and Rosalind are getting excited about the film premiere, Joyce gets cross with them both, saying she can't think about a night out when she has her job, her reputation and her home on the line thanks to this hearing coming up. Rosalind and Trixie realise they have been insensitive, so they clean and press Joyce's uniform for her hearing and shine her shoes as a sorry, and tell her that she will always have friends in them, whatever happens.
Mark tells his mum that he has an interview for the army and she is shocked, thinking that the secret he was hiding is that he had a lady friend. He tells her that he will be going to Aldershot to train for 16 weeks before he is posted somewhere, maybe overseas. She doesn't take the news well at all, telling him that she won't be accused of standing in his way, and yells at him to get out.
Sister Veronica and Sister Catherine go to see Jacqui, but although she is looking better she is despondent and doesn't seem to be taking care of little Kerry. Sister Veronica tells her that Cyril has been assigned as their social worker and how nice he is, but Jacqui says they don't need one as she is off drugs and her husband is working now.
May goes with Shelagh and Patrick to the magistrates court to sign the adoption papers and all goes well, and May is officially part of the Turner family at last, leaving everyone thrilled.
Nurse Crane gets to Ellen's house and finds her on the floor having fallen down the stairs, however, there isn't a scratch on her and by some miracle she didn't spill a drop of the tea that she was carrying when she 'fell' down the stairs. Nurse Crane sees through Ellen's attempts to stop Mark from joining the army, and decides she needs to intervene. Phyllis finds Mark at work and explains what has been going on with his mother, so when he gets home, he tells them they need to talk. He tells her that he will take the army job if he gets it and asks for her blessing. Phyllis tells Ellen that she will miss Mark but she won't lose him, and this could be a time for her to focus on doing something for herself.
Lawrence gets home and is shocked to find Jacqui has sold her wedding ring to pay for more drugs. He is cross and tries to throw it away, but she begs him not to and asks him to take it with her, like she did with him in the past. He tries to resist as he has been working so hard to get clean, but there is tragedy ahead when Sister Veronica and Cyril arrive the next day to see the family and they have to break down the door to get to Kerry. When they get in, they find Lawrence and Jacqui on the bed, both having overdosed and sadly dead. Doctor Turner and Sister Veronica are devastated for little Kerry and her newborn brother, Michael, and say they will have to trace the children's grandparents.
Joyce and Sister Julienne head off for her hearing and Joyce is very nervous about what might happen. At the hearing, she stands her ground, explains everything that happened, and is eventually told the happy news that she has been exonerated of all wrongdoing and there will be no further investigations into the case against her.
Ellen is clearing things for a jumble sale, determined to get her life back on track if Mark is moving out. When he gets home he has news and tells his mum that he got the job with the army and she is thrilled, finally accepting his wishes and giving him a hug.
There is also happy hers at Nonnatus House when Sister Catherine gets a letter from her sister, Helen, who has written to say she will be at her vow ceremony and wouldn't miss it for the world, even if she has to come on her own, and without the rest of the family.
Everyone heads off for the film premiere and as Trixie, Miss Higgins, Joyce and Phyllis all leave together, Rosalind goes ahead with Cyril. But while they are walking there some young lads who are passing them make a comment about Rosalind being able to do 'better' than Cyril, and she is fuming at the racist comment while he tells her that change will come, but it is going to take time.
The premiere goes smoothly and as Cyril and Rosalind talk about the future they want to share together, it seems this is a romance that is getting off to a solid start.
In the UK Call the Midwife season 14 airs on Sundays on BBC One at 8pm. In the US the series will start in March 2025 on PBS.
