Call the Midwife season 13 came to a moving end earlier this year and fans are eager for the next season of Call the Midwife and the 2024 Christmas special.
The gap between seasons of Call the Midwife might seem like an eternity for fans but it’s always well worth it when the new series starts and we get drawn into the lives of our favourite Poplar community all over again. The journey hasn’t always been easy over the seasons, with plenty of emotional moments that brought tears to our eyes, not to mention the heart-warming words of the narrator in Call the Midwife which are always so meaningful. We’ve seen cast members come and go, wondered whether Fred Buckle would die in Call the Midwife season 13 and now we’re just months away from the 2024 Christmas special airing. After the Christmas special comes season 14 - and so for those curious about when to expect the next season of Call the Midwife and what lies in store in the Christmas episode, here’s all we know so far.
When is the next season of Call the Midwife on?
At the moment there is no official release date for the next season of Call the Midwife but we predict that season 14 of the beloved BBC show will start in January 2025. This timeframe would be in line with all the previous instalments of Call the Midwife, except for season 10 which was broadcast in April 2021, likely due to filming having to be pushed back due to the pandemic. Given this long-established pattern, it would be a surprise if the BBC chose to air Call the Midwife season 14 later on in 2025, but until an announcement is made, this is technically possible.
When is the Call the Midwife Christmas special on?
Ahead of the full, next season of Call the Midwife we can look forward to returning to Popular once again during the festive season with the Call the Midwife 2024 Christmas special. At this point Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without a Call the Midwife episode and although we don’t yet know exactly *when* the Call the Midwife 2024 Christmas special will air, it’s often been shown on Christmas Day by the BBC in the past. The same could be true this year and even though we’ll have to wait for confirmation to be certain, there are some details we already know about what to expect from the 2024 Call the Midwife special.
Who will be in the Call the Midwife 2024 Christmas special cast?
Earlier this year Call the Midwife shared a sweet picture whilst the 2024 Christmas special was being filmed, showing the actors who play Dr Patrick Turner, Shelagh Turner and May and Angela Turner standing in front of a Christmas tree with a clapper board. So we know that at the very least they will be appearing in the festive episode and alongside the picture, a caption from Call the Midwife revealed that this is the Turner home at Christmas.
"What better way to open up the new season than with the Turners Shelagh (Laura Main), Patrick (Stephen McGann), and their children May (April Rae Hoang) and Angela (Alice Brown) in the cosy festive turner home," they wrote.
This special post was then followed in May 2024 by a series of more photos behind-the-scenes of the festive episode. The pictures showed plenty more familiar faces, including Nancy, Trixie’s brother Geoffrey, Joyce, Colette and Rosalind. It’s thought that most of the existing cast will be back for the Christmas special - and season 14 too - and Dr Turner’s actor Stephen McGann has teased that it’s going to have a balance between fun and "darkness".
What will the Call the Midwife 2024 Christmas special be about?
Until the Call the Midwife Christmas special airs we won’t know what lies in store, but Stephen McGann and Sister Veronica’s actor Rebecca Gethings have dropped some tantalising hints. Speaking to RadioTimes at the National Television Awards, Stephen shared that whilst it will have "all the fun of the fair" that is coming to Popular in the special, it will also have "the normal kind of darkness you would expect with Call the Midwife".
"There will be tears and laughter, it's heart-warming as always. It's about community but yeah, they're always tested at Christmas, it's not just about cuddles and Horlicks," Rebecca added.
Stephen also described the festive episodes of Call the Midwife as being very "special" for him, as he believes that these are the ones each year that people especially "respond to".
"It's a very special episode, Christmas for us in our show, and that's the one people particularly respond to. I think it comes in as part of the festival and the year, which we're incredibly flattered by, but it makes it that bit more special. Christmas is a special one," he said.
When will the Call the Midwife 2024 Christmas special be set?
Excitingly, the Call the Midwife 2024 Christmas special will be set in the 1960s but it’s the last episode of the show that will be. For those who aren’t sure when Call the Midwife is set, the heart-warming BBC drama has been gradually edging forwards in time after season 1 kicked off in 1957. Call the Midwife season 14 will be set in the 1970s and the show has explained how the Christmas special marks a "turning point".
"This yuletide marks a poignant turning point – as it's the last time we'll be filming in the swinging sixties! Next stop: the supersonic seventies!" the caption alongside the clapper board picture declared.
The show’s creator Heidi Thomas spoke about this time shift too, responding, "After all these years, I still get butterflies every time I see the first clapperboard picture from the set. Series 14 is set in 1970, launching us into an exciting new decade. We can’t wait to bring you another season full of touching, exciting, emotional stories from Nonnatus House."
Throughout Call the Midwife, the show has focused on important contemporary issues as it moved from the 1950s through to the 1960s. Now, with Call the Midwife season 14 set to take the show forward into the 1970s, it will no doubt continue to do so, and provide viewers with insight into 1970s British society. The real-life nuns who inspired those who appear in the BBC drama are understood to have remained working in Popular until the mid-1970s when they relocated to Birmingham.
All episodes of Call the Midwife are available to watch now via BBC iPlayer and via Netflix for US-based viewers.
