Call the Midwife star teases "dangerous, high-drama" snow in Christmas special
"It really affects and endangers people."
The Call the Midwife cast have been busy promoting this year's Christmas special and Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Patrick Turner, has promised some extremely dramatic weather – with disastrous consequences.
"It was a particularly warm spell [when we started filming], very nice and mild, like we tell you every year," he said. "But there's a big sequence… in the cold. I remember turning up in Chatham in Kent where we filmed some of the big ambulance sequences, and it's that weird thing where you're walking along the road in the sunshine and then you turn the corner and it was literally January. And the atmosphere, there was a lot of dry ice, it seemed psychologically freezing.
"So we don't just have snow this year, like I always say. It was dangerous snow, high drama where it really affects and endangers people, and affects the plot."
Trixie and Matthew are also navigating their first Christmas together as a married couple, which Helen George described as "awkward", adding: "They're trying to work out what they're going to do. Trixie doesn't really have any family apart from Nonnatus House, and of course he's a Chelsea boy, so does he really want to spend Christmas in Poplar?"
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Olly Rix continued: "Despite what they might want it to be, they don't get the choice. They have this house guest [Trixie's brother Geoffrey], and they have all these obligations at Nonnatus House. He's just sort of screaming inside."
This year's festive episode begins a couple of weeks before Christmas Day with "Apollo 8 poised to circle the moon".
But despite the excitement in the air, "Sister Monica Joan is convinced this could be her last Yuletide and decides she'll not live to see man walk on the moon", which prompts her friends to team up in an effort to boost her spirits.
Viewers will also be pleased to hear that "Nancy has recommitted to staying at Nonnatus House" after her future was in doubt last season, while Cyril is distracted by "a lost soul living alone in a dilapidated basement flat", and Nurse Crane attempts to make it back in time for Christmas after time away on a refresher course.
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All 12 seasons of Call the Midwife are available to stream on BBC iPlayer. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Drama hub for more news and features.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
