'Call The Midwife,' There's Christmas Heartbreak Coming

The holidays aren't the easiest time of year, especially for the residents of Poplar in Call The Midwife. While all that talk of love and joy being the spirit of the season and family togetherness being the best present of all sounds nice, it doesn't always solve the problem of hungry bellies or homelessness. Even those who do seem to have managed to find it all discover the holidays are a struggle, as the above image of Trixie Aylward (nee Franklin) shows above. As actor Helen George, who plays the longtime fan-favorite, revealed recently in an interview, newlyweds Trixie and Matthew will have an "awkward" first holiday season. 

"They're trying to work out what they're going to do," George told the Radio Times. "Trixie doesn't really have any family apart from Nonnatus House, and of course, he's a Chelsea boy, so does he really want to spend Christmas in Poplar?" Olly Rix, who plays Matthew, admitted not so much; but as a good husband, he winds up sucking it up. "They have all these obligations at Nonnatus House," Rix said. "He's just sort of screaming inside."

Trixie and Matthew won't be the only ones struggling. Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Patrick Turner, warned that though they filmed in the middle of the summer, there will be snow – with disastrous consequences. "It's that weird thing where you're walking along the road in the sunshine, and then you turn the corner, and it was literally January," he explained to the Radio Times since they filmed parts of the special in July. "It was dangerous snow, high drama where it really affects and endangers people, and affects the plot." 

Here’s the official synopsis for this Yuletide special:

Call the Midwife’s Christmas Special begins two weeks before Christmas with Apollo 8 poised to circle the moon. Sister Monica Joan is convinced this could be her last Yuletide and decides she’ll not live to see a man walk on the moon. The Nonnatus family, including Trixie’s brother Geoffrey, decides something must be done to try to lighten her state of mind. Trixie and Matthew, fresh from their honeymoon, are preparing their first Christmas together as husband and wife when Geoffrey pays them an unexpected visit days before Christmas. 

Nancy has recommitted to staying at Nonnatus House, and Sister Julienne has offered her and Colette a room for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Cyril gently intervenes when he discovers a lost soul living alone in a dilapidated basement flat. For this man, Christmas is a reminder of all he’s lost and all he’s never had. Nurse Crane, away on her refresher course, makes it home in time for Christmas festivities despite a treacherously heavy snowfall.

The current cast of Call The Midwife will all return for the Holiday special this year. George, Rix, and McGann will be joined by Linda Bassett, Judy Parfitt, Jenny Agutter, Laura Main, Cliff Parisi, Annabelle Apsion, and Megan Cusack. The series co-stars Georgie Glen, Zephryn Taitte, Rebecca Gethings, and Daniel Laurie. The holiday special will also feature Christopher Harper reprising his role as Trixie's brother, Geoffrey, and Francesca Fullilove as Nancy's daughter Colette.

The Call the Midwife Holiday specials from Season 9 through Season 12 (2020 - 2022) are all currently streaming for members on PBS Passport. The Season 13 2023 Holiday special will air on most PBS stations and stream on PBS Passport starting Monday, December 25, 2023. As always, check your local listings. 

And don't forget to mark your calendars for Sunday, March 17, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET, when Call The Midwife Season 13 begins its proper premiere on PBS, with all eight episodes available that day on PBS Passport for members.