Jenny Agutter Talks Nonnatus House's Uncertain Future in 'Call the Midwife's Finale

It is somehow once again time to say goodbye to Call the Midwife, even though it feels like we just returned to Poplar. Luckily, we already know that we'll be getting at least two more seasons, a spinoff, and a movie, so this is definitely "goodbye for now" rather than a final farewell. As with any Call the Midwife finale, there were celebrations but also some concerns that will carry over to Season 15. 

Nancy (Megan Cusack) and Roger (Connor O'Donnell) returned to Poplar for their wedding, but Nancy also had to reveal during her final wedding dress fitting that she was very, very pregnant. She and Roger clearly celebrated their engagement early, but that meant a little bit of a scramble before the ceremony when she suddenly went into labor. 

While Nonnatus House was overjoyed to have a new baby in the mix and to have a wedding to attend, it was not a worry-free situation. Sister Catherine's (Molly Vevers) vow ceremony took a few nuns to the Mother House. While Catherine had a joyous reunion with her sister before taking her first vows, Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) discovered that The Order as a whole is struggling financially. The head of Nonnatus House realized that their chapter wasn't the only one struggling to find their place in the 1970s world order. 

"It’s an absolute puzzle at the end. It has the same feeling as an actor coming to the end of the series and saying, ‘What happens next?’ I can very much understand what Sister Julienne is thinking," series star Jenny Agutter told TellyVisions. "There’s nothing that’s going to come between her faith and her desire to serve the community. It just becomes, what community are they going to serve? At the end, they talk about going abroad and being part of a mission group, not in the U.K." 

That clue about going abroad is a clue about this year's Christmas special, which will once again be a double episode. The nuns will head abroad for a mission trip. Telly Visions asked Agutter if she'd be willing to see some of the Nonnatus nuns going abroad for longer, perhaps in another spinoff?

"That sounds like a good fun thing," she admitted. "Everybody knows in this business it’s a matter of what can be bought and what people like the idea of, so you have to entertain ideas." However, the actress isn't looking to move anywhere long-term. "I don’t want to spend too much time abroad, but I love traveling. It would be fun to be going somewhere. The Order [historically] ended up in the country and continued in a different way. So maybe some travel, a mission, or something completely different. It is quite a commitment to be away for a while, but it would be fun." 

Before we can think about what the nuns get up to in the future, we need to recap what happened in the finale episode. 

We can't have a Call the Midwife finale without some drama. A fire at the Mother House after Sister Catherine's vows brought a few of the teen mothers staying there back to Poplar, including Episode 1 patient Paula Cunningham (Kitty Anderson). When we last saw Paula, she had just discovered she was pregnant and was promptly disowned by her very religious mother. While her father was more sympathetic to Paula's condition, the family agreed to send her away to have the baby. 

After spending months away from her daughter, Mrs. Cunningham (Caroline Faber) had a change of heart about cutting her daughter out of her life. Young Paula was able to have the support of her family after she made it through childbirth, which was a terrifying experience for such a young girl. The Cunningham family reunion was a nice balm after such an intense start to the season. It was heartwarming to see this young girl, who had to go through an attempted exorcism earlier, finally make some peace with her family as she goes through another tough chapter in her life. 

Paula wasn't the only one to become a mum in the episode. Nancy hoped to make it through her wedding before the baby arrived, but that wasn't the case. First, she and Rodger had to tackle telling Colette (Francesca Fullilove) that she would be a big sister. That involved some comical hijinks and miscommunication as Roger missed his signal to join the mother-daughter conversation and came in too soon. Colette took the news well, though, signaling this family unit will do quite well moving forward. 

It was actually Nancy who had a more adverse reaction to the new baby. She was excited about the pregnancy, but the panic set in when she went into labor. She had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance, but the ambulance did not make it to the hospital in time. Nancy had to deliver on the side of the road, which only increased her nerves. She had her fellow midwives with her, though, and was ultimately coached through the successful birth of another baby girl. Roger is going to have a house full of women, but he seems like the ultimate girl-dad, so that feels alright to us. 

The bout of nerves dissipated once Nancy had the baby in her arms. Then, she and Roger could focus on exchanging vows in their autumn-themed wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony, and all of the Poplar family could attend. We love a community-wide party. 

Roger and Nancy weren't the only ones to have a happy ending to the season. Cyril (Zephryn Taitte) and Rosalind (Natalie Quarry) also shared their first (public) kiss after the wedding. Despite the social pressure against them, these two will face it together and not let anyone stop them from having their desired future together. We know that at least we will be in their corner. 

There are many questions about Nonnatus House's future going into Season 15 and the upcoming Call the Midwife film, but the fact that there are two more seasons and a movie, not to mention the spinoff, means that fans can go into the hiatus without being too freaked out. The nuns and midwives will return in multiple forms, and it's not time to worry about saying goodbye yet. 

All episodes of Call the Midwife Season 14 are currently streaming on the PBS app, the PBS Masterpiece Channel, and PBS Passport for members through the end of May 2025 before moving house to Netflix this summer. Call the Midwife Season 15 is already confirmed to return in December 2025. Season 16 is greenlit, but will not begin production until after the Call the Midwife prequel spinoff and the Call the Midwife feature film complete production.