With Cyril's wife Lucille having left Poplar to return home for some time, this has left both the character and the show's writers in a difficult position - is Cyril leaving the series?
When Cyril's wife Lucille departed Call The Midwife after a series of devastating storylines, fans immediately wondered what would become of Cyril himself. Actress Leonie Elliott made the decision to leave the show during season 12, and her character was written out after suffering an emotional breakdown following the loss of her unborn baby, and amid rising racial abuse in the aftermath of Enoch Powell’s Rivers of Blood speech, criticising immigration to Britain.
Lucille left Poplar for home in Jamaica to focus on her mental health, later delivering the news to Cyril that she'd be staying on for a time and had taken a job in her home country. So beloved is the series, that fans always feal a flicker of fear if it appears a character might be leaving - this was the case when Fred Buckle became gravely ill with tetanus, and when everyone wondered if Trixie was leaving Call The Midwife when husband Matthew departed for America. Now, with Lucille showing no signs of coming back and Cyril departing Poplar to visit her early in series 14, fans are worried Zephryn Taitte, who portrays Cyril, is leaving the show - here's everything we know.
Is Cyril leaving Call The Midwife?
Although the series creators haven't confirmed whether Cyril is leaving the show or not, it would appear he will be back later in the series if recent comments from Natalie Quarry (Rosalind) are to go by. Cyril and Rosalind became close during the 2024 Christmas special, where there was clear chemistry brewing between the couple.
Speaking to Hello about the chemistry turning to romance between Rosalind and Cyril, Natalie hinted there was a lot more to play out between them, meaning series 14 should see a return of the fan-favourite character from his Jamaican break. "It's a very slow burn as obviously, Cyril is married," she told the publication.
The actress added, "There's a lot of what's appropriate and what's allowed. I think Rosalind is learning a lot about herself and her emotions and she's growing up. She's never been in love before and this is all very new and it has to be slow because they will probably face racism from the community."
She concludes, "I think she is more naive about the realities of that than he is. As a white woman, she wouldn't necessarily have seen a lot of that behaviour and that all rolls into it. It's not the most easy path."
Having often teased Cyril and Rosalind have a lot to deal with during this season, it seems apparent Cyril will return from Jamaica to see out the rest of the series while viewers see these challenges alluded to by Natalie, unfold.
As well as the narrative problems with Cyril and Rosalind getting together in the series, the writers have had to deal with Lucille's physical absence, creating appropriate storylines that fit in line with what the characters would do - in reality had Leonie Elliott not departed the show, it's likely the highly religious couple would have stayed together and worked through their problems.
Leonie has confirmed that her absence from the series is permanent and she has no plans to return. This leaves the writers in a difficult position - it's hard to move Cyril's story on in a way that's faithful to a character who wouldn't divorce or cheat on his wife, but whose screen wife will never be returning to the series - Cyril can't be stuck in a distance marriage that will never see the couple back together again, so what can be done?
Zephryn Taitte has addressed this difficulty, saying of Cyril, "I guess he's wrestling with [the fact] his love is overseas and he's a man of the cloth so he doesn't want any infidelities. He wants to make sure that that situation is wrapped up and he can move on with his life, if he moves on with his life."
Although cryptic, it could be that while the writers find a permanent solution to explain Lucille's absence and Cyril not wanting to break his wedding vows, the character will sometimes disappear to see his wife - it'll be interesting to see how they get around the marriage and move on with a new romance for the character. For now, we believe Cyril will be staying on in Poplar, and watch this space as we hear more.
