Filming has officially begun on Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms, with creator Heidi Thomas describing the World War II prequel as “a joy to write.”
Filming has begun on a brand new prequel series to beloved drama Call the Midwife, taking viewers back to Poplar during World War II. The three-part Christmas special Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms is now in production at the studio in Longcross, Surrey, with further details about a potential full series to be announced in due course.According to the BBC, the prequel is being helmed by the current Call the Midwife creative team, with showrunner Heidi Thomas returning alongside executive producers Pippa Harris and Anne Tricklebank, who also serves as producer. The series will feature some well-known characters from the original show as their younger alter egos, and will be narrated by Jenny Agutter, who plays older sister Julianne in the main series.
What will Call the Midwife: Nuns in Arms show?
The prequel takes place in September 1939, a time when Sister Monica Joan was young, Sister Julianne and Sister Evangelina were young and enthusiastic, and Nonnatus House was the beating heart of Poplar. The story follows nuns and midwives who devote their lives to mothers, children and the poor, but without the modern medical resources that audiences know from the main series. There is no gas, no air, no penicillin, no cure for tuberculosis, and no welfare state.
The cast of the series “Sisters in Arms”
Julie Hesmondhalgh stars as Sister Alice, with Amy Booth Steele as Sister Evangelina, Helen Schlesinger as Sister Monica Joan, and Helena Wilson as Sister Julianne.
Bali Gill plays Dr Kate Malhotra, the local GP, while Martin McCann and Rachel O’Connell appear as Tommy and Mary Moffat.
What Heidi Thomas said about the introduction
Creator and writer Heidi Thomas thought about developing the series.
“Having loved and lived with the Sisters of Nonnatus House for many years, I found myself longing to turn back the clock and tell the story of their finest hour, the Raid,” she said. “Above all, Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms is about what happens when women go to war. It’s about love and childbirth, separation and courage, lipstick and nylons, or the lack thereof.
But it’s also a medical drama, set in a devastated landscape where even the nurses can’t know whether or not they’ll live until morning.Thomas also spoke about the emotional journey of writing the introduction, and described rediscovering characters she had created years earlier. She added: “Writing Sisters in Arms was fun, like returning to the family home and finding all the people I loved young again and full of new energy.”
The legacy of “Call the Midwife.”
The original Call the Midwife is one of the most popular dramas on British television and has been among the top five most watched dramas on all channels and streaming devices in the UK from January 2023 to date. Between 2012 and 2026, the series was in the top five most watched BBC dramas every year. The prequel is an exciting addition to a genre that has captivated audiences for over a decade.