CALL The Midwife’s Helen George has lifted the lid on how Trixie Franklin is left “p***ed off and shocked” in a brutal spinster storyline during this Christmas special.
Fans of the BBC period drama were left scratching their heads if the show would ever return their screens again due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Season 9 aired its final scenes back in February, and when Covid-19 hit many were left worried about if it would be able to return.
But don’t you worry, the show is set to back on our screens on Christmas day with a festive special this Friday, and a new series is literally right around the corner.
Last month viewers found out that nurse Trixie receives a subscription to a marriage service to help her find a man as a present during the Christmas special.
And it seems that she wasn’t too happy about receiving it.
She told TV Mag: “I think she’s generally quite p***ed off to begin with!
“She’s coping perfectly fine and focussing on her career so it’s a bit of a shock and also, it’s like ripping the plaster off and going: ‘Oh God, is this what everybody’s thinking? Am I left on the shelf? Is this awful? Everybody else has found a lover,’ or whatever.
“So I think it’s a bit of a shock but it’s ultimately quite a fun storyline for Christmas and I do get to speed date, the Call The Midwife equivalent of speed dates with quite a few men, chaps.”
The festive special is set 55 years ago at Nonnatus House, with everyone looking forward to some traditional celebrations.
While Trixie comes to terms with her unwanted present, Sister Monica Joan is rushed to hospital, Shelagh is involved in a deeply moving birth, and Nurse Crane heads off on an exciting adventure.
Helen teased that viewers won’t be disappointed with the 90-minute festive special, and thinks that it’s a great thing to watch to help wind down after the year we’ve all had.
The actress said: “There’s holly everywhere, tinsel… It is really Christmassy and it’s a very fabulous celebration.
“Also, I think after what’s been happening over the last few years, God, we really need to celebrate on our screens when we can.
“So it’s very bright, it’s full of festivities and I think it’s a nice escapism for us all on Christmas day.”
Filming for the special wrapped up in September, a whopping SEVEN months after they had planned to start filming for the special.
The cast kept in touch via Zoom throughout the first initial lockdown period, but still had no idea when they’d be able to see each other again, and described it as a bit of a “waiting game”.
Helen explained: “We all kept in touch over lockdown and there were various Zooms and phone calls and stuff and emails. So, we were in touch.
“We didn’t have any notion as to when we were gonna start filming, there were so many rumours.
“We were like: ‘Definitely by July… Okay, maybe by the beginning of August,’ you know. It was that sort of thing, it was a waiting game.
“The producers and the BBC worked so hard to get us out. Basically they need content for Christmas day – we’re all gonna be at home, we’re not gonna be out are we? So we need to be watching something on Christmas day.
“I think it was quite a priority to get us going and to get their flagship shows back up and running.”
The star, who also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, admitted that she found it weird seeing her work pals in the flesh after six months of talking on a screen.
She added: “Was it strange seeing everybody? Yes, my God, it was such a relief to just see other people.
“It’s been great and really nice to see all of the cast. Everybody’s back. Obviously you know that Jen, Valerie’s left, but all of the cast are here. And it’s so nice to see Judy and Linda.
“It has been weird not to be able to hug but just to be able to see each other is great.”
The likes of Jenny Agutter (Sister Julienne), Linda Bassett (Nurse Crane), Judy Parfitt (Monica Joan), Laura Main (Shelagh Turner), Victoria Yeates (Sister Winifred) and Stephen McGann (Dr Turner) will be joining Helen on our screens for this year’s Call The Midwife special.
Watch the Call The Midwife Christmas Special this Friday (December 25 2020) on BBC One at 7.40pm.
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