Call the Midwife creator reveals why there won’t be the “traditional” Christmas special in 2026

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As a big fan of Call the Midwife, I was thrilled to hear it’s coming back for season 16 – especially after the prequel and the movie! But, the creator just let slip that things won’t be quite the same when it returns in 2026. Apparently, we won’t be getting a Christmas special that year, which is a bit of a surprise, honestly.

There won’t be a typical Christmas special this year, she explained. Instead, the new prequel series, set during World War II, will premiere around Christmas time, as confirmed by executive producer Pippa Harris.

After that, the movie will begin filming. It’s currently in the early stages of development and will be set in a foreign country in 1972, with familiar characters from the original TV series.

Season 16 will arrive after that.

Thomas explained that the lack of a typical holiday special in 2026 is only a brief change to the show’s normal schedule, and then reflected on the fact that ‘Call the Midwife’ has been running for an impressive 15 years.

She said she couldn’t think of another show that had consistently produced a new series every year for so long. While other shows might reach a 10-year milestone, they often have fewer series – and fewer episodes overall – than her show does.

I believe this is a great chance for us to take a break, recharge, and return with even better ideas.

Laura Main, who plays Shelagh Turner, expressed sadness about not filming the annual Christmas special, a key part of the BBC’s holiday programming.

She admitted it definitely makes Christmas more special. It’s been a half-year project, and being able to share it with family makes it truly meaningful.

I really love Christmas, so I’m disappointed we won’t be celebrating it in April too. It would be nice to have a festive experience without having to wait a whole year for the traditional December holiday.

This year’s Christmas special featured the midwives of Nonnatus House traveling to Hong Kong. They responded to a disaster after the maternity branch in Kowloon was destroyed, resulting in widespread loss and damage.

Although the project was incredibly difficult due to its size and challenging conditions, the biggest problem they encountered was unexpected: intimidation and threats from Chinese gangsters.

Despite the challenges, they returned safely to Poplar. Now, the Turners are looking after Christopher, who is the son of May’s birth mother, Esther.

So, the story kicks off with this really tough situation – the dad is a member of the Triads, known as The Cormorant, and when my kid, who has this rare kidney cancer called Wilms’ tumour, needed a doctor, the dad was totally against it at first. It’s a complicated setup, but it immediately grabs you, you know?

He eventually agreed to the treatment, and Christopher is now in London receiving chemotherapy, which will continue throughout season 15.

The series begins in 1971, showing some of the characters participating in the Women’s Liberation movement and protesting by burning bras in front of Nonnatus House, according to an official description.

Throughout the year, the team has been involved in a variety of challenging cases, including complications with premature births, placenta previa, kidney cancer, tuberculosis, and instances of modern slavery.

The fifteenth season will see the return of many familiar faces, including Judy Parfitt, Jenny Agutter, Laura Main, Helen George, Cliff Parisi, Stephen McGann, Linda Bassett, Annabelle Apsion, Georgie Glen, Zephryn Taitte, Rebecca Gethings, Daniel Laurie, Renee Bailey, Natalie Quarry, Molly Vevers, Max Macmillan, Alice Brown, April Rae Hoang, and Edward Shaw.

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Call the Midwife season 15 arrives on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in early 2026.

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Authors

Abby RobinsonDrama Editor

Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor at TopMob, where she writes about TV dramas and comedies. Before that, she was a TV writer for Digital Spy and a content writer for Mumsnet. She has a degree and a postgraduate diploma in English Studies.

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2025-12-27 09:41