Call the Midwife never sets out to "implant" 2023 issues, says star
Stephen McGann said it is "interesting how often people see the resonances" with present-day talking points.
Although Call the Midwife is very much a period piece, fans of the beloved drama have often noted that many of the issues explored in the series continue to have relevance in the modern day.
But according to Patrick Turner actor Stephen McGann, the show has never deliberately set out to "implant" current talking points into its storylines.
"I can assure you that what we don't do as a programme is set out to do… a 2023 issue," he explained to RadioTimes.com and other press at an event to promote the Call the Midwife tour at Chatham Historic Dockyard.
"If it throws up any mirror or if people see resonances in it, it’s not because we’ve implanted some issues in there to show you that. But it’s interesting how often people see the resonances and go, ‘Oh, well they must be saying this [about the present day]’. No, we’re just telling a story from that time."
He added: "Sometimes you move on, sometimes you still have some work to do."
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Meanwhile, co-star Jenny Agutter explained that one of the "really wonderful" things about working on the series was the ability to focus on the social issues of the period as well as the medical issues.
"There's always discovery in each year, looking at some of the social problems [and] some of the medical problems," she said.
"Dealing with female genital mutilation, dealing with thalidomide, dealing with how Down’s was looked at… dealing with so many social issues is something for us to be able to have some really extraordinary material, and through really wonderful stories to be able to present that."
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She added that for the audience, one of the "feelgood" aspects of the show is watching a community work together – something that she said had particular relevance during COVID.
"And we do reflect today a lot of stories, you can see where those issues have not been solved," she said. "So we’re able to look at it and say, ‘Well, have we got through that? Have we got through homophobia? Have we got through racism? Have we got through looking at people with disabilities? Have we changed? Have we moved on?’
"We’re moving, but are we moving fast enough? So I think it’s really important to do that."
Additional reporting by David Craig.
Call the Midwife is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and you can attend the Call The Midwife tour at Chatham Historic Dockyard. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
