In this year's Call the Midwife Christmas special – the first double festive episode in the show's history – love was in the air for Nancy.

Advertisement

The midwife first crossed paths with Roger while she was manning the reception desk in Miss Higgins's absence.

The tranquilliser salesman, who had come to the clinic to speak with Dr Turner, was instantly taken with Nancy from the moment he first laid eyes on her, and she with him.

And their instantaneous chemistry continued to flourish.

They met for a second time when Roger once again arrived at the surgery hoping for an audience with the doctor, but even when it became clear that his appointment would not be going ahead, he hung around anyway so that he could officially ask Nancy out on a date.

"Things are a bit busy because it's Christmas," she said, even though she clearly wanted to take him up on his offer.

"You know what it's like," added Nancy.

But that evening, during an outing to the local fair with her daughter Francesca and some of her colleagues, she confessed to Rosalind there are moments when she realises how "alone" they really are, a sobering admission that seemingly encouraged her to take a leap of faith and accept Roger's invitation.

Nancy felt the fear but she did it anyway, and, just as we anticipated, their date was a roaring success. Well, almost.

Read more:

After enjoying a ride on the bumper cars, the pair went for a stroll and chatted some more, before Roger then expressed his desire to kiss her as she gave him the green light.

"That was lovely," said Nancy following the exceedingly romantic moment, which was cut abruptly short when a very buoyant Roger tripped and sprained his ankle.

But that minor hiccup wasn't enough to wipe the gigantic smiles off either of their faces.

The next morning, however, their romance was almost halted before it had even really begun.

EMBARGOED UNTIL 10-12-2024 00:00:01 Roger Nobel (CONOR O’DONNELL) AND Nancy Corrigan (MEGAN CUSACK) sat next to one another in a taxi, holding hands and looking at one another
Roger Nobel (CONOR O’DONNELL) and Nancy Corrigan (MEGAN CUSACK). Neal Street Productions/Olly Courtney

Roger turned up unexpectedly at Nonnatus House with a bunch of flowers for Nancy, only to be greeted at the door by her daughter, a piece of information that the midwife wasn't ready to share with him.

But despite her best efforts to shut the salesman out, the gentlemen was not for turning and managed to coax her into joining him for a cup of tea, where she opened up to him about her past.

"Me mopping up sick is funny," she said. "Me being useless on the dodgems is funny. Me telling you all about the orphanage and telling you all about the nuns' voices, I can make that funny too.

"But becoming a mother at 16 is the biggest and most serious thing that's ever happened to me. I can never make that into a joke, so I didn't tell you."

When Nancy admitted that she was afraid her being a mother would push him away, he had the perfect response.

"The only thing that would scare me off is if you expect me to keep laughing all the time, because that wouldn't be normal, genuine or real, and I want this to be real, Nancy," he said.

"All of it. Everything I've felt ever since I first clapped eyes on you, it's been like I'm dreaming."

When Nancy asked him if he thought it was "all happening quite fast", he had the perfect response to that too.

"Yes, but I think it's meant to," he said.

With Nancy in firm agreement, the stage was set for Roger to finally meet Francesca, joining both mother and daughter for the annual Nonnatus House Christmas lunch.

After an initial blip, it's full steam ahead for Nancy and her new beau.

Call the Midwife returns to BBC One and iPlayer in January.

Advertisement

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

Abby RobinsonDrama Editor

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.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement