Call the Midwife creator talks series hiatus: “All of a sudden everybody was really sobbing”

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Change is baked into Call the Midwife. Progress is what the drama is about.

Heidi Thomas, the writer known for expressing her ideas through her characters, recently shared that her long-running show is nearing its end. After 15 years and 15 series, she’s known for a couple of years that it couldn’t continue indefinitely, citing the need for set repairs and worn-out costumes for the nuns.

Each series takes fourteen months to produce. For two months out of the year, my colleague Annie Tricklebank and I are working on two series at the same time, which is incredibly demanding. We jokingly call ourselves the ‘Windmill Girls’ because during September and October, we’re working non-stop. I often work until 5 AM, and Annie starts at 5 AM, with us passing tasks off to each other via email. Then I can finally get some sleep while she heads to the set. It’s a pace you can’t keep up forever, though.

I remember reading an interview with Thomas about a year ago – it was with TopMob, I think – and he casually mentioned that Call the Midwife might eventually need a break. It seemed like just a thought at the time, but here we are!

Thomas hinted at potential future projects for ‘Call the Midwife’, saying that if the show pauses, it will be to explore other stories within that world.

The future is now – or, more specifically, this Sunday night. That’s when the latest episode of Call the Midwife will air, and the show, as viewers currently know it, will take a break. As Sister Monica Joan might put it, it’s going on hiatus – a pause, originating from the Latin word meaning to ‘gape’ or ‘yawn’. There won’t be a Christmas special this year, and the next series won’t arrive until after January.

Those who love the Call the Midwife series – and there are many – will be sad to see it end, and BBC One will face a significant challenge replacing it in its winter programming. This is the first time the channel has had to fill such a large gap since the show began in 2012.

Instead of continuing the main series right away, there are plans for a short, three-part prequel set during the London Blitz of World War II. A feature film, likely set in Australia in 1972, is also in the works. Considering how quickly Thomas works, the prequel could air around Christmas this year, with the film following a year later. If she were to begin writing a sixteenth series now, it might be ready for Christmas 2028. However, it’s still early to be thinking that far ahead.

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Returning to the current season of Call the Midwife, set in 1971, showrunner Philippa Braithwaite reveals a surprising final act: a minor act of theft. And, interestingly, she doesn’t seem particularly regretful when recounting the story.

Just before a small fireworks show marked the end of filming at the drama’s Surrey location, Thomas quietly slipped away from the cast and crew. She headed back to the Nonnatus House set, determined to get something done, following a touching scene filmed between Sister Julienne and Dr. Turner – though that wasn’t the very last scene filmed for the episode.

She admitted to taking a picture of a nun from the set—one she’d wanted for around seven years. She expected someone to stop her, but then she remembered she was in charge and could take whatever she liked. It was a humorous moment, a mix of strong feelings and silliness, and she felt it perfectly captured the spirit of their years working together.

It’s surprising behavior from Heidi Thomas, considering she’s been the lead writer and executive producer of the series based on Jennifer Worth’s memoirs. However, Thomas – known for being confident, exceptionally skilled, and hardworking – doesn’t offer any explanation for her actions, only hinting that she was going through a very emotional time.

She admits she cried more while filming that episode than any other. She wondered if her tears were due to the emotional story itself, or because it was likely a temporary end to the show. Ultimately, she believes it was a combination of both.

It’s no surprise the episode was emotional. After several episodes of developing storylines – including Rosalind and Cyril’s quick wedding, the touching look at Sister Veronica’s hopes and struggles outside of religious life, the Mullucks family returning, and Sister Monica Joan’s brave decision about her kidney treatment – everything came to a satisfying conclusion on Sunday’s episode.

Okay, so last week, Sister Catherine had to be really direct with Sister Monica Joan. She basically told her that if she doesn’t take her medicine, her kidney problems are going to get much, much worse, and quickly. As a fan, I’m bracing myself – it’s building to a really powerful moment, but honestly, it’s going to be heartbreaking. I think we’re all going to be quietly devastated, but it’s going to be a really important part of the story, I can feel it.

The actors were definitely emotional while filming the final scene, though, as is typical with TV production, it wasn’t actually the very last day of shooting – it was a Wednesday during the second-to-last week.

Thomas recalls that almost the entire cast was in the scene when people began to cry. He says he himself was crying, as was Helen George, and soon everyone was deeply sobbing. The emotion was so strong that several people’s false eyelashes fell off. He remembers thinking they might not be able to finish filming for the day, as the entire shoot revolved around capturing that final scene.

During a lighting change, the cast quickly started a game of charades, and everyone was soon roaring with laughter. It really highlighted how, despite the characters in Call the Midwife dealing with sadness, they also possess incredible strength. It was a moving experience, knowing we were finishing filming for a while, and it gave us a chance to reflect on everything we’d accomplished together over the years.

The journey to success hasn’t been easy, especially given how competitive television is today. Thomas remembers that fifteen years ago, period dramas were expected to focus on the lives of the rich or be based on well-known classics – books everyone studied in school, like those by Austen, Gaskell, or Dickens, and adapted in a similar style to Andrew Davies’ work. His adaptation of Cranford was a prime example of this trend.

Call the Midwife definitely didn’t fit neatly into any existing TV category, and many didn’t expect it to succeed. However, it quickly became the BBC’s most popular new drama in ten years. According to creator Heidi Thomas, the show was immediately popular with viewers, but it took a while for critics to take it seriously. She remembers questioning why a show attracting over eight million viewers was being dismissed as simply ‘charming and cozy’ by around its second series.

Honestly, it’s intense! Every single week, someone’s getting hurt – it really feels like life or death for these contestants. We, the fans, absolutely loved it, but it was so frustrating because whenever anyone talked about the show seriously, they talked down to us. Even when they were being nice, it felt like they didn’t really get what made it so good.

She explained that the show’s heart lies in telling the stories of women and people from working-class backgrounds. Over the years, it’s highlighted the lives of those often overlooked, proving that even seemingly small lives are full of important stories. Especially in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the experiences of women, disabled people, and LGBTQ+ individuals were often ignored, but their lives are valuable. Call the Midwife has given voice to these stories, celebrating them for 15 years and perhaps subtly shifting how viewers see the world.

The story resonated with Thomas because she saw parallels to her own life. She didn’t come from a particularly wealthy or academic background – she grew up in a fairly typical suburban environment with working-class roots, and always felt like an ordinary person. However, she’s achieved remarkable things – like having a play performed at the Royal Shakespeare Company at a young age – and she recognized that Call the Midwife shared this quality: it appears to be a simple, everyday story, but it actually accomplishes something quite special.

Thomas has accomplished something truly remarkable with this drama. Not only did she discover and support rising stars like actress Jessica Raine and director Emerald Fennell (of Wuthering Heights), as well as writers Amy Roberts and Loren McLaughlin (who later created The Hardacres for Channel 5), but she also redefined period dramas and set a new standard for Sunday night television by telling previously unheard stories.

Thomas explains they’ll return with some adjustments. He emphasizes these changes won’t be negative, but rather positive and beneficial.

Recalibrated how? What changes? The seed of an idea has obviously already been sown.

I’m looking into the idea of community hospitals. These were popular in the 1970s, and I remember one in Liverpool where people went for general doctor visits or x-rays. They largely disappeared by the late 1980s, but now they’re being reintroduced because they’re a proven effective healthcare model.

We’re not sure when series 16 will air yet. We’re currently working on a prequel and a film, and my main focus right now is finishing up the current series.

Call the Midwife concludes on BBC One at 8pm on Sunday 8 March 2026.

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Authors

Gareth McLean

For almost three decades, Gareth McLean has been a professional television writer and critic. He’s reviewed countless shows and interviewed a wide range of personalities, including stars like Liza Minnelli and, formerly, Jimmy Savile. He’s also worked as a writer creating content for television itself.

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2026-03-04 11:38