Call the Midwife announces 2 new midwives for season 13

As revealed in this week's issue of Radio Times magazine, the series will welcome student midwives and roommates, Joyce and Rosalind.

Renee Bailey plays Joyce Highland, a Trinidadian pupil midwife described as “hardworking, fiercely bright and deeply kind”. But as is often the case with any new arrival at Nonnatus House, Joyce is hiding a secret traumatic past of her own.

Bailey has previously appeared in BBC Three's Mood as Paris, Netflix's Rebel Cheer Squad as Leila and is set to also star in Channel 4's upcoming detective series, Get Millie Black.

Natalie Quarry, who has appeared in Atlanta and BBC long-running medical soap Doctors, will star as fellow pupil Rosalind Clifford in Call the Midwife.

Rosalind is described as “naive at times, but with an inner steeliness”. Her demeanour could very well come in handy as season 13 will pick up in 1969 when the midwives have to face maternity bed pressures, deadly diseases and further personal turmoil.

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Speaking to Radio Times magazine, series creator and writer Heidi Thomas said: “Newcomers Joyce and Rosalind arrive with much to learn. As 1969 unfolds, we’ll see change and challenge rock the world of our beloved nuns, nurses, medics and midwives.

“Even as man prepares to walk on the Moon, we see them grappling with life’s eternal questions. Who are we?What is love? And where do we belong?”

“They’re a wonderful addition to the show,” adds executive producer Dame Pippa Harris. “I can’t wait for the audience to meet Joyce and Rosalind and to follow their journeys, by bicycle, through the streets and lives of Poplar’s residents.”

After the news of Call the Midwife's return was confirmed earlier this year, Thomas said in a statement: "It's an incredible privilege to be able to look back on a decade of Call The Midwife, and yet know that our journey is still very far from over. We are thrilled to be going on for a few more years.

"Like Nonnatus House itself, we have a proud past but an even more exciting future – full of old favourites, fresh faces, higher hemlines, new ideas. The stories we tell are like babies – they never stop coming, we love them all, and we vow to do our best by every single one."

Call the Midwife is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. 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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