Call the Midwife is reportedly preparing for a shakeup to its cast, as it prepares to say goodbye to one of its most popular characters.
Olly Rix, who plays Matthew Aylward, is said to be leaving the show in forthcoming episodes of the BBC drama, which follows a group of midwives in the 1950s and 1960s in London’s East End.
The show’s eighth season, which concluded in February, saw Matthew marry senior nurse Trixie Franklin (Helen George) after a long-teased romance.
However, according to a report in The Sun, viewers won’t have too long to bask in scenes of Trixie and Matthew’s wedded bliss.
Despite filming for the new series being underway, the publication claims that Rix, 36, was only informed of his impending departure by scriptwriters last week.
“The news of Olly’s departure has left the cast and crew stunned and upset,” an insider told the newspaper.
“Some feel it’s a bit unfair and he is well-liked by everyone. It felt very out of the blue.”
The Independent has reached out to a representative of Olly Rix for comment. The BBC declined to comment when approached.
Trixie Franklin (Helen George) and Matthew Aylward (Olly Rix) in Call the Midwife— (BBC / Neal Street Productions / Laurence Cendrowicz)
Earlier this year, the actor shared some insight into how he made the moment of Matthew and Trixie’s big day feel even more significant by avoiding his co-star behind the scenes.
“I did everything I could to make sure that I didn’t see Helen before she arrived on set,” he explained to Ranvir Singh on the ITV daytime programme Lorraine.
“I had no idea what the dress was gonna look like, and I said to the guys dropping us down there, ‘Please make sure we don’t cross paths, I don’t want to see her until I see her walking down the aisle.’
“Amazingly, it worked, and it was a bit of a heartstopping moment.”
Call the Midwife has won two National Television Awards since its 2012 debut and has been nominated for Returning Drama every year since 2018. This year, it lost out to the final season of the cop procedural Happy Valley.
