Call the Midwife Series 8 is coming soon! Yes. Call the Midwife is back on BBC1 for an eighth series in 2019 – and a number of exciting new faces are set to join Nonnatus House.
Who are the new nurses and what is going to happen in “Call the Midwife Series 8”? When is Call the Midwife back on TV? Who are the new nurses and what is going to happen?
We don’t know, but we can speculate. Read on!
Scroll on further down and you will find our summaries for the previous series, as well.
Following on from the Call the Midwife 2018 Christmas Day special, series eight will begin on Sunday 13th January at 8pm on BBC1.
In the USA, the drama is expected to premiere on PBS on 31st March 2019.
More dram is on its way about the history of childbirth in the 1950s and 60s.
We’ve not really got over the emotional trauma that was Call The Midwife season seven, what with the heartache, health problems and shock death, but we are looking forward to the next series of the BBC’s hit midwifery drama starring Helen George, Laura Main and Leonie Elliott.
Season eight will pick up with the women of Nonnatus House still feeling the impact of Nurse Barbara Hereward’s shock death, which devastated fans in series seven.
“The spirit of Barbara continues throughout the series through all of us. In a way the loss of somebody like that breathes new life into the thing as a whole because everybody realises that they need to seize the moment and take her spirit and warm, loving energy throughout the series.”
We know that Charlotte Ritchie, who played Nurse Barbara, won’t be back for Call the Midwife Series 8, after her character passed away towards the end of season seven.
We will certainly be looking forward to this new series from the program’s ensemble cast has also included Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris, Judy Parfitt and Laura Main as nuns living at the convent, and Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Hannah, Charlotte Ritchie and Emerald Fennell as other midwives. Vanessa Redgrave delivers framing voiceovers in the role of “mature Jenny”, and continues to do so even after the younger version of the character was written out of the series.
A moving and intimate insight into the colourful world of midwifery in 1960s east London. From the drama following the lives of a group of midwives working in the poverty-stricken East End of London during the 1950s, based on the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth.
The world of almost 60 years ago was a very different one from today, both from a social and technological standpoint. I’m impressed by the attention to detail in the series. It allows viewers to immerse themselves in the stories, which touch upon issues such as abortion and incest, as well as the then real threats of polio and tuberculosis.
It’s hard to believe that anyone could be as compassionate and tender as the midwives in Call the Midwife. Compassion and tenderness are rare qualities in the increasingly disconnected world of the 21st century. We suspect to witness those qualities, is a real incentive for even the casual viewer of this series, which depicts the lives of midwives toiling in the east London of the late 1950s to early 1960s. So, by that fact the “Call the Midwife Series 8” season should continue to attract large audiences.
More recent stories have even addressed the thalidomide tragedy. The acting is, without exception, top notch, especially that of Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan. I tend to be especially critical of shows that rely on lachrymose sentimentality to further the story. Call the Midwife is at times tender, sweet tempered and, well, nice, but never false as it displays the panorama of the human condition.
The close of Season 7 left audiences across the UK heartbroken following the death of much-loved nurse Barbara Gilbert to septicemia.
And now viewer’s hopes rest on a brighter beginning to Series 8 for the residents of Poplar and the nurses, midwives and Sisters of Nonnatus House for Season 8.
Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyse will be joining the cast of Call the Midwife for the Christmas special as well as episode one of series eight which picks up in spring 1964. She is set to play the part of Sister Mildred.
Dr Patrick Turner, played by Stephen McGann, is a GP who works closely with the midwives of Nonnatus House. He served as a doctor in WWII and suffered a mental breakdown in 1945. After the war he married and had son Timothy, but Mrs Turner died in 1957.
During his work with the midwives and nuns, he became close to Sister Bernadette – causing her to revoke her vows! She left the order and became Shelagh and the pair were married in the 2013 Christmas special. The pair adopt a daughter, Angela Julienne Turner.
But our joy for Barbara was short-lived, as tragedy struck in series seven when the newly-wed contracted septicaemia and died. There weren’t enough tissues in the world to deal with our sadness and shock.
Our Thoughts on the Series Overall
If the earlier series are any judge Call the Midwife Series 8 will continue in same vein as before. The midwifery scenes are skillfully depicted without being too sensationalized or graphic. Very enjoyable viewing for anyone with an interest in these areas. Cannot wait for the next series !! Very true to book which I read after viewing the series.
As an adult family we have enjoyed every part of it. It tells of the daily struggles of a group of young midwives working in the slums of London. We both loved it and fell in love with the plots, characters and old-fashioned 50’s sets. The BBC deserve bragging rights for producing such an accurate portrayal of the times in England back then.
My grandmother even watched it with us and gave us the “oh, how the times have changed” speech
The Last Call Midwife Series Autumn 2018 (7th)
In this series, the one before the current series “Call the Midwife Series 8”, it started with Sister Monica Joan’s birthday.
Dr Turner gets involved with a troubled young man, and Barbara lies ill in hospital.
Barbara gets involved with a recently widowed pregnant woman. Her condition doesn’t improve and she’s kept in isolation at the hospital, leaving her friends bereft.
Dr. Turner and Shelagh assist a man held in a remand home.
Lucille must win the trust of a mother who is terrified of giving birth.
Sister Julienne learns about a new culture as she helps a family at a difficult time.
A pregnant mum hears a devastating diagnosis. Fred and Violet organise a beauty contest. via BBC.co.uk
Nurse Lucille Anderson who arrives in the middle of a blizzard, helps a woman face her fears when a case of suspected smallpox causes alarm.
Creator Heidi Thomas has lined up some excellent guest stars throughout the series too.
The midwives strive to provide patient care during the coldest winter in 300 years.
Phyllis more concerned for elderly Ruth Gelin, dying of cancer but refusing to leave her soon-to-be demolished house and has to win over Sergeant Woolf to grant Ruth’s wish.
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.
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.
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. The good news is the video made it clear that Nurse Trixie (Helen George) will be returning to Poplar.
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.
Sister Julienne is played by Jennifer Kirby who made her TV breakthrough in Call the Midwife, but before appearing in “Call the Midwife Series 8”, she also had an impressive stage career with the Royal Shakespeare Company before joining the BBC1 drama.
Miranda Hart has been in the series since 2012, when midwife Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne, nicknamed Chummy (Miranda Hart), arrived at the convent to begin work. She hailed from an upper-class background and aspired to become a Christian missionary, but found getting to grips with her new job difficult and Sister Evangelina a harsh critic. While struggling to learn to ride a bicycle (which the midwives use to make their rounds), she encountered local policeman Peter Noakes (Ben Caplan).
Call Midwife Series 2017 (6th)
The legacy of thalidomide becomes apparent and Nurse Crane faces an unexpected crisis.
Valerie Dyer cares for a pregnant Somali woman whose culture has some unfamiliar aspects.
Nonnatus House welcomes a new recruit, and a young man captures Fred and Violet’s hearts.
An expectant mother with money worries enters into a painful arrangement with her cousin.
The maternity home faces closure and Barbara cares for a Chinese first-time mother.
An explosion at the docks brings heartache to the people of Poplar. via BBC.co.uk
In series six of this nostalgic 60s period drama we saw them laugh together, cry together, and pull together, supporting each other as never before.
Episode 1 (example)
Most of the Nonnatus House staff travel to a tiny rural mission hospital in South Africa, which is threatened with closure. There they hold a well-attended oral polio vaccination clinic. They find the health of the patients severely threatened by a dwindling and dirty water supply, and must try to convince a local land-owner with a grudge against the establishment to allow a new life-saving pipeline to run across his farm.
They also must deliver a baby out in the bush when their only lorry breaks down, and cope with a distraught woman with false pregnancy, and a polio patient who was carried all day on his brother’s back.
When the hospital’s only doctor is herself hospitalised with a life-threatening illness, it falls to Trixie to deliver a baby by Caesarean section.
Tom proposes to Barbara and the couple get engaged.
Phyllis helps a mother who is desperate to escape her violent husband.
Concerns are raised for the mental health of Sister Mary Cynthia, and she is sent away to the mother house.
Shelagh learns she is expecting a baby, while Patsy receives a letter from Hong Kong informing her that her father is terminally ill. via wikipedia.org
Also, in the series:
The midwives open a family planning clinic and Tom and Barbara have a wedding to plan.
An expectant mother faces a hard choice, and her decision affects Tom more than most.
What to expect in “Call the Midwife Series 8”
In brief, expect “Call the Midwife Series 8” to provide yet more of what you have seen and loved already!
