Chaos is on the horizon for the Buckles in the 2024 Call the Midwife Christmas special.
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This year, the long-running period drama is returning to BBC One with a festive double-bill, the first in its history, and as ever, the midwives are all busy delivering babies – but not without challenge, including influenza, the Hong Kong flu and an escaped prisoner!
But that isn't all, with trouble ahead for Reggie Jackson (Daniel Laurie) as he continues to explore his newfound independence.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press, Cliff Parisi (Fred Buckle) said: "Normally Reggie's been really sheltered by Vi and Fred, but they've kind of started to try and grant him a little bit more independence as he's gotten older.
"So when we do a job together, he gets a separate pay packet with his own name on it. He's now becoming a young man, and they're trying to respect that and trying to make him more responsible."
But of course, that comes with risks.
Daniel Laurie plays Reggie Jackson in Call the Midwife. BBC
"On this particular occasion, things get out of control," he continued. "I think it does remind them how vulnerable he can be. Things are all right when they go right, but if they go wrong, he doesn't have another option. He doesn't know what to do."
Laurie first appeared on Call the Midwife in season 6 following the death of Reggie's mother, which prompted the nuns to take him under their wings, before Fred and Violet (Annabelle Apsion) then took him in.
While taking care not to reveal too much, viewers are in for a "dramatic" set of Christmas episodes, with the tone being fairly "dark" but also humorous, according to Jenny Agutter (Sister Julienne).
"For me, when I read it, I was very touched by it. It's quite Dickensian," Agutter told RadioTimes.com and other press.
She continued: "It is quite dark, but in with that is a lot of humour and a lot of humanity, and that's what lightens it.
"It's just the recognition that we're in difficult times, we've been in difficult times, we always were in difficult times. It just recognises that."
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
