Original subtitles

Welcome to the tenth anniversary celebrations of Call The Midwife,

full of love stories, crime, comedy, tragedy,

all fired by the ties between family, friends and community.

With nursing at its core, Call The Midwife

depends on human interaction

more than most shows.

Oh, lass.

Since the series launched in 2012,

millions around the world have taken our characters to their hearts.

Hello, I'm Jennifer Lee.

We are the Sisters of St Raymond Nonnatus,

midwives and district nurses, present at life's commencement

and at its end.

The name's Turner, patient's GP.

Sister Bernadette, this is Nurse Lee.

Oh, greetings.

I understand you qualified by a whisker,

Nurse Fortescue—Cholmeley—Browne. I did pass.

It was a bit of a scrape.

Call The Midwife is a little bit like a watch.

If you take the back off it,

you see all these tiny individual wheels and cogs,

and not only does each have a role of real importance,

but it works in conjunction

with other wheels and cogs.

So every character in the drama has a particular relationship

with another one.

Nurse Gilbert? Welcome. I'm Sister Julienne.

I'm Patience Mount, but people call me Patsy.

This is Fred, our handyman.

Phyllis Crane, SRN, SCM.

Hello!

One of the things that makes the job special,

is that it's an ensemble cast

and they're all wonderful and it's a joy to act with them.

Nurse calling.

Valerie Dyer, I'm a nurse. Queen Alexandra's Army Corps.

Oh, hello, Reggie, love.

Hello, Mum.

We're going to go straight ahead and then turn right into Lisbon Street.

Don't forget your hand signals.

I just stick out my arm, don't I?

Slow down now, Chum. How?

Lean in as you turn.

I don't know how to turn! I've forgotten how to turn!

Brake! Brake, Nurse!

What happened? They were going too fast!

I think the success of the show really is down to the fact that

Heidi Thomas is still writing for us.

The programme has showcased the life and work of a midwife

and the essential humanity of the role.

Absolutely beautiful.

You say that as if you've never heard it before.

I haven't, for a while.

That's it, Carrie, put another one behind you.

I think, Call the Midwife has

really brought midwifery into people's minds.

It's become a sort of household name in a way that

perhaps it wasn't before.

It's discussed more, it's become

a career possibility for many women and men.

The word midwife means "with woman".

A woman in that situation needs somebody by her side,

whatever mistakes or choices brought her to our door.

That's it. That's it. Keep it coming.

Gravity can do amazing things.

It keeps our feet on the ground and bring babies down to earth.

You have to remain

calm and measured in your responses

and you have to be

kind and empathetic.

You're unbelievably brave

and I wish we all had your courage.

Thank you.

I thought I deserved all manner of medals. Up all night,

cycling for miles,

a wall of wimples at every single mealtime.

Ain't you ever heard of a mother's instincts before?!

I need him to come!

Blondes have more fun, they do.

Ain't that right, Nurse?

Absolutely.

I didn't expect glamour when I came into nursing,

but I had hoped for something more than a nice hymn,

discussing square dancing and drinking Horlicks.

We are midwives.

And we're also nurses and we're your friends.

While we're looking after you, we'll be whichever of those you need most.

Ah!

You mark my words, the joy of midwifery never dims.

With music you can somehow express things that

go beyond what you can say with words.

We're here in Abbey Road Studios, where we have just recorded an

episode of season ten.

The most important instrument in the palette of sounds is actually

the, the dialogue, the script of Heidi Thomas

and the music is written in counterpoint with the, with the story.

What happens in the story resonates in the, in the music

and creates an avid language.

It is just a universal human language.

Some of the scenes I like to score the most are the birth scenes.

It's the mystery of the creation of life,

and the music can go beyond what we see in the visuals.

A receiver for the placenta, please, Pupil Midwife Corrigan.

Yes, Mrs Turner.

Playing the part of a competent midwife

is not the same as being one.

Confronted by the reality, could any of us really handle it?

I could deliver a baby.

Absolutely not! I think I'd probably run the other way!

Because it's not like it is on TV in real life.

If I see someone who is quite largely pregnant

and likely to have a baby any time,

I move very far away, so that I am not spotted

because the idea of being asked

whether I could do anything...

Yeah, I, I'd sort of think,

oh, I'd know what maybe some of the stages were.

Erm, not really. No, I think, I think I'd rather,

erm, leave it to the experts.

In terms of my favourite birth, gosh, there have been so many.

I'd like to know how many I've done on the show.

There's been some really incredible ones and I think,

each time it's an emotional bubble that bursts.

Even though it's acting, it somehow feels real.

She says, I love you.

And your father loves you.

And if you never hear his voice,

or if I never hear yours...

...just know that we love you...

...from the bottom of our hearts.

I never stop being moved every time I see a baby born.

It doesn't matter how many times.

And I think that's what the audience love too, it's fresh life.

And if you're suggesting that a few deep breaths

and not thinking about what's for dinner is all there is to labour,

you are leading your patients up the fairy way.

That's it.

Congratulations!

One baby.

Babies come along when they feel inclined.

We can only prepare, we can never predict!

Oh, Lord, if I've ever given you

the impression that I don't believe in you,

I absolutely promise that I do now.

Oh! I did it!

It's a little boy, Noelle. Oh, he's beautiful!

But that dress is ruined.

That dress just had the best day of its life.

I want to be glad but I don't know how.

Let him hold your finger.

Let him know you're here.

You have a son.

Hello.

Call The Midwife has not shied away from difficult subjects.

What is it?

Baby's had some complications, Ruby.

Spina bifida...

It's a problem with his back.

...tuberculosis...

Yes.

The lesions are small.

...female genital mutilation...

But there is more than one.

There's nothing there but a scar from front to back.

Are you sure? ..abortion...

This is England and we do not give out abortions to any woman

who demands one.

...racism.

One as necessary, just as you've been taking them.

I tell you what, every woman in the family way is going to be

banging your doors down for these.

What's that magic stuff in them again?

The tablets are known as Distaval

and the magic ingredient is called thalidomide.

Well, better get some more in. I'm going to spread the word!

Shall we?

I think one of my favourite moments

has to be series five and thalidomide,

and the reason being that, I was old enough to remember these kids

playing in the street, they were a bit older than I was.

Catch your breath for now.

What is it, a boy or a girl?

It also affected the character personally.

It's a daughter.

It involved fantastic special effects

and enormous commitment to accuracy and authenticity in the script.

Bring her over, I want to look at her.

My favourite

Call The Midwife scene is probably the scene in that episode.

An ordinary mum has the baby in her arms and she uncovers

for the first time that this, this child is four—Llimb deficient.

Oh, love.

What a mess.

What a mess, eh?

We'll sort something out.

I promise.

Cos you're mine.

Mine.

And I'm not bailing out on you.

But me and Laura worked a lot

with the wonderful animatronic model which we called Baby Susan,

that's her character's name.

She can hold a rattle in them, Dr Turner, and a spoon!

She can't get it in her mouth yet, but...

Most children can't feed themselves until they're a wee bit older.

One of the most important prosthetics

we had made was for baby Susan

and we had loads of research material from Heidi

and we worked with really brilliant prosthetic technicians.

We were also talking to grown—up thalidomiders,

who hadn't seen themselves as babies,

so it was really moving for them.

That's it, lift it off there, go on.

Look at that! Yay! Susan, that's for you!

And at that time, observing those things

and being proud to play a part in that

is possibly my proudest moment on Call The Midwife.

Come along, Sally. You can bring your mother with you.

My favourite story was incredibly moving.

It was me and Cynthia, Chummy

and Cynthia, that did the birth for that scene and that was...

...incredibly tough to do

acting—wise and just sort of being in the moment of that story.

That's an example of a Heidi Thomas genius script.

I thought it was amazing, incredibly moving.

I haven't heard it cry yet.

Is it hurt?

Baby's just very, very little, Sally.

It's just the placenta, Sally.

Can I go home now?

We do deal with the harsher realities of being

a young black woman in white British society at that time.

The midwife's here.

Nurse Anderson, this is Marjory Chivvers.

Hello, Mrs Chivvers.

Textbook pregnancy this time too.

Known Marjory since school.

Biggest complication is likely to be the mother — bit of a character.

I meet the mother of the expectant mother, called Mae Stanton,

who's probably not so pleased to see me.

I need to examine you.

Who died and made her the boss?

Look, if you're going to be funny you can clear off!

Can't no—one take a joke these days?

Right, Mae, why don't you get back down...

She doesn't want a foreign

midwife to, you know, look after her daughter.

Hello, girls!

And how's little... Hands off!

Mrs Stanton!

Come on, girls. Come with me.

I don't want you lot anywhere near my family!

And especially not her!

Come on, girls.

I did an episode about FGM.

And people couldn't believe that it was,

sort of, went as far back as that,

that people were addressing it that far back, but they were and

that was sort of when we were first starting to see it in this country.

My name is not Mrs Farah.

In my country, a woman does not take her husband's name.

She is her own person, called after her own family line.

My name is Nadifa Ghedi Jama!

And no man would dare cut me or my sisters.

The person who holds a knife is a woman.

The person who calls Deka back to be cut is a woman.

Her own mother who loves her!

Who wants her to be respected, to be clean and to find a good husband!

And to be those things...

...she must be cut.

She will not be scared.

She is braver than me.

Call The Midwife does address some of the issues

that we have today, I think.

There's a real focus about abortion and people's opinions on that.

Obviously it was still illegal at the time, so people were going to

desperate measures to reach their end goals.

Gran... Gran, has someone been doing an abortion?

Yes.

Me.

You know it goes on all over.

Just like everybody else does.

She ain't never had this happen before.

Not once! You wanted towels.

Don't you bring those filthy articles anywhere near my patient!

Throw them on the floor, please, so I don't slip in this mess!

Thank you.

Can you put some gloves on, Nurse Dyer, in case I need you

to prepare some ergometrine?

Sweetheart, can you tell me your name?

It's Teresa.

I'm just going to take a little look down below, Teresa.

I send them home to bed, usually.

They lose it at night or the next day.

Move your knees apart for me.

I've never seen anything like this. Good girl.

We're going to sort this out.

I reckon there was already something wrong with her.

It's the haemorrhage she's having now that concerns me.

Did you use instruments? Yes.

Thank you.

Nurse Dyer. I need sterile pads.

And I need you to call for an ambulance. I can't do that.

You know I can't. It's why we sent for her.

You can and you will,

because if either Nurse Dyer or I have to leave this poor girl's

side to do it, we'll be coming back here with a police officer.

Won't we?

Yes.

I don't want my mum and dad to know.

I promise, Teresa, right now

nobody in this room is thinking about anyone but you.

The sets in Call The Midwife are carefully

built around the stories.

Working with elaborate props,

actors sometimes feel drawn to the objects around them.

If I were to steal something from

a set on Call The Midwife, I'm afraid that there are two

main places of focus and one is my office.

I absolutely love... all the props in my office.

I'd like to take my uniform home.

I love this building and I would...

Every time I have an idle moment,

I stroll around it and imagine it

as a fabulous house that I could live in.

And this room that we are in is actually my en—suite bathroom.

Armchairs. They're not comfy

but they look fantastic.

Yeah, I'd like an armchair.

I'd want to take home that.

Well, I think contractually it's going to follow me

on every job I do

and I might take it home.

Don't tell anyone.

There's a few costumes that I really want to take home.

I've got this beautiful, bright blue, suede coat, which is

a gorgeous sort of '60s vibrant colour

and I really want to take it home.

I have been eyeing up the clock in Dr Turner's surgery.

I really would quite like that on, on my kitchen wall.

I'd probably take my cross.

And the other thing I'd like to steal, if I may steal

something else, is a tea set from the tea table, because so much

of our lives are placed around that and they're so much of the period.

If there is something I'm allowed to take home from the set,

it would be an enamel bucket with a lid.

If Laura Main doesn't bring her lucky handbag to the set

containing her script, she freaks out.

So, if there's anything I'd like to take home, it's the handbag.

I, Georgie, would like the donkey from the first nativity play.

That was my, I think it was my very first scene.

There are one or two young men I wouldn't mind taking home,

but apart from that, no.

In a scene, I may be opening a letter and when I open it,

someone's taken the trouble to write the letter to Sister Julienne

and it will be about a problem they're having.

And it's not a letter that's being seen,

it's not a part of the story, but that's what the prop department do

and I might steal one of those.

This is the prop store and we hold thousands of items here.

I've been to South Africa with this show

and we've been to Scotland.

South Africa probably was

the hardest challenge I had, because we were in the heat.

So, we were up against all the elements.

There've been so many wonderful scenes over the last ten years.

I think one of my favourite ones was

when we were in South Africa and we were travelling back

on the back of a truck that

Dr Turner was driving.

Quite badly, I have to say.

But we had this wonderful moment, myself and the ladies, where we

just sort of watched the sunset and sang. I think we sang Amazing Grace

and it was just this really peaceful moment.

I don't think we were even being filmed,

it was just a wonderful moment.

I had huge resistance in me to going to the Outer Hebrides,

looking at these pictures of what seemed

to be a very grey and difficult place,

and I loved the experience of being there.

There was that inexplicable

scene of following Sister Monica Joan across the moorside

and then having her see a white stag.

It's part of the magic of the way Heidi writes.

I think that she does write imaginatively.

You can't help but be touched by something like that.

Oh!

I knew Him at once...

...from the love in his glance.

He came...

He looked...

...and He departed.

In that case, we will accept His blessing

and go to seek Him in another place.

Love has been a key element in Call The Midwife.

The turmoil, excitement and quiet comfort

of relationships have all played out here.

Falling in love with Dr Turner in series two

and, you know, that dilemma, leaving the order.

I'll never forget being told

what was planned in that series,

because it just felt like such a gift of a story line and

suddenly the job was even more

greater than I thought it was going to be.

So all of that series and those moments

I'm really fond of, looking back.

Dad!

There's a woman in the wrong clothes and I think it's her!

What if it had started raining?

What if you'd got lost?

I was lost.

I got the wrong bus.

I was on the right road. Yes.

I know you so little, but I couldn't be more certain.

I am completely certain.

I don't even know your name.

Shelagh.

Patrick.

There.

We've made a start.

I can't, Jimmy!

I believe in the films, they say, "Your place or mine?"

I'd live in a ditch if it was with you.

Will you just let me love you

and accept this blade of grass?

Yes, I will.

Barbara Gilbert, will you marry me?

Oh!

If I may quote a poem.

"For love of you, the air, it hurts,

"and my heart, and my hat, they hurt me.

"Who would buy it from me, this ribbon I am holding,

"and this sadness of cotton, white, for making handkerchiefs with?

"Ay, the pain it costs me to love you as I love you.”

Not my words but those of Garcia Lorca.

I'm not one for Spanish poetry, give me Tennyson any day,

but... I find his words move me.

And if I may...

...the pain it costs, to love...

I believe it is always worth it.

And wherever I go next...

...you're coming with me.

I love you, Nurse Anderson.

Over ten years of powerful drama...

Hello, bambino.

...particular scenes touch us in a special way.

I'm your dad.

I thought it was a wonderful scene when the nuns

went through the trunk load of dresses that they had had for their

marriage to Christ,

and gave a revelation as to who they were and what they'd felt

and their commitment.

...Until I had blisters.

And this one's mine.

It was almost thrown out

because there was silver embroidery on the sleeves.

In the end, I had to unpick every stitch.

I felt rather sorry for the bride

that donated it.

I was quite sad when I was told I'd be making my vows in my habit.

I hadn't realised the order had given up the custom until then.

Sister, the expression on your face was worth a thousand frills

and folderols.

I don't mind telling you, I felt like an absolute sideshow in my big

white frock.

I'm sure you looked lovely.

It was just a load of nonsense!

I'd never had any dreams of a wedding day.

When Sister Evangelina died and the coffin is at the entrance

to Nonnatus House and Sister Monica Joan brings out her shoes

and puts them on the coffin lid, I thought

that was the most brilliant thought on Heidi's part,

because it was so emotive. It sums up the character.

I think my favourite story was the one where we rescued

a young mother from an abusive husband.

Her mother was also a bully,

so she was having a very bad time.

She had a little son as well as the baby.

Mickey... Mickey, run and bang on the door. Bang on it.

Help! Help!

Come inside.

Come inside, where we can help you.

We got her away.

There was a lovely scene at the end of them getting on the bus, going

off to a better home life

and the little boy holding his balloon as he went off

and waving bye—bye.

Yes, I liked that story. Bye! Thank you!

Bye!

One make—up that I really did enjoy doing was a few series ago now,

but it was on Sister Cynthia.

And she'd unfortunately, in the story line, been badly beaten up.

We didn't really go overboard with it,

so it wasn't absolutely excruciating to look at her,

but it was enough to make her look really vulnerable and frail.

It's very important that we create just the right support.

I think it can really help an actor.

Sister. What happened?

I wasn't raped.

Before you ask me, I can say that, I wasn't raped.

You were viciously attacked.

Just now the details don't matter.

I don't want you to come near me, I just...

...don't want anybody to touch me at all.

I'll call Sergeant Noakes.

Bryony was so brilliant in that part.

Thank you.

There was a little bit of prosthetic on her eye, but not too much,

but I think it really worked actually.

There is a time for us to mortify our flesh.

And a time to cherish it...

...and marvel at its strength.

My entrance, coming in and the big freeze,

trudging through the fake snow, meeting Val

and the rest of the cast,

that's probably my favourite moment.

Ah!

Come in! Quick, out of the snow!

Do you need to see a midwife? I am a midwife.

I'm Nurse Anderson. L—Lucille Anderson.

Ah! Course you are!

And I just fell over.

Oh! I'm sorry we're in the middle of a power cut.

I'm sorry I'm late. I've been travelling for two days.

Have you bought a suitcase or anything?

I bought two but I had to leave them behind

when we were forced to evacuate the train.

Oh!

A poetess?!

Oh!

One dabbles, Sergeant Woolf.

I'd had a romantic liaison with Sergeant Woolf

and I'd allowed myself to get a bit silly and romantic about it all.

I feel it would be unfair of me to continue with our relationship.

It ended badly and tragically and I felt embarrassed and silly about it.

Nurse Crane offered

a hand of friendship

and we had a little scene where we sat in the allotments.

And it was a very special moment,

because I think it was the first time Miss Higgins had

actually allowed herself to let down her defences and realise

there was someone there who was offering some sort of friendship

and she could really speak openly,

and I found that that was quite an important moment for me.

I... fear I have made myself look rather foolish.

Not in the least.

One becomes so starved of companionship.

I let myself imagine it was something more than it was.

You've been disappointed in love,

it doesn't mean there wasn't love there to begin with.

I have many favourite moments but one that

sticks in my head is when

Cyril picks up Lucille in the motorbike and the side car.

I just fixed it up.

You're the first person to ride in it.

And how do I get in? Just climb in.

There's nothing to it.

Come on, let's go.

It just lit that kind of excitement

about this new relationship that's forming.

And he hasn't rode this bike again, so definitely that,

that was a memorable moment for me.

What makes me feel so happy in fittings is when that

actor actually feels the characters that

they're playing and you can just see it in their face.

Beautiful. You know, I know that I've done my job then.

A favourite outfit would be Trixie's return.

Taxi!

Everybody watches what Trixie's wearing.

So there was quite a lot of pressure

to make sure we had an outfit

that was eye—catching.

Nurse Franklin. Trixie, you look wonderful!

I dare say you'll be wanting a decent cup of tea!

Yes! And if it comes with cake, yes, please!

The good thing with Trixie is that we do have the, er,

the rich aunt from Portofino, so we do have a little bit of

artistic licence on giving her a wardrobe that's slightly more

sophisticated and glamorous than

perhaps would be for a normal midwife's wage.

Oh!

Family bonds are especially important here.

They are the beating heart of the drama.

People write in all the time saying how much

they enjoy watching functioning, growing families.

Are you sad, Dad?

How could I be sad when I've got you?

There's only t—two things that I want now...

...a minister of religion...

...and to see you in your Nonnatus uniform again.

I'm happy.

Well, that's a good thing, isn't it, to be happy?

Not if my mum's angry.

Why would she be angry?

Because she's not here.

Oh, Reggie!

Your mum would be delighted.

All she ever wanted was for you to be happy.

And Fred and I are going to make sure that you are.

Don't worry, Auntie Vi.

I'm not sad, I'm happy.

Put this on.

It's Mater's.

I love you.

The family, to the Turners,

it should feel like home.

I sent you a Dundee so it would last.

We have Tim,

a widower's son,

and we have Angela,

we have May, we have baby Teddy, we have a number of rabbits.

Well done, Timothy.

To have a family at the centre of a drama like this, a family that grows

like other families who watch the programme...

Oh! You've grown a whole inch!

...that is more true to more people out there than, say,

a serial killer drama

or, you know, a spy mystery that you can have a hundred of.

This is more of a real thing.

We just have to check if you're

tall enough to drink beer.

Oh!

It seems you are.

The Bishop said that BBC Television want to film a carol service

in an ordinary London church and broadcast it on Christmas Day.

Filming, Mr Hereward? In a church?

My sentiments exactly. Is nothing sacred?!

Call The Midwife deals with births, marriages and deaths.

All major life events that have traditionally

been mediated by faith.

And grant that this day we fall into no sin,

neither run into any kind of danger.

That all our doings,

in order by thy governance, may be righteous in thy sight.

Everyone always says I sound like I'm from a different time

and so it fits perfectly for this,

so it's nice to have a little sing, actually.

It's very soothing doing those psalms.

There's something that comes over you when you're doing it,

it's a really nice thing

to do with the other nuns when we get to do those scenes.

I would be a little bit fed up with you if I was the man upstairs.

The man upstairs knows my reasoning.

In which case, he also knows you're scared.

Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow...

Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for thou art with me,

thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

♪ I once was lost

♪ But now I'm found

♪ Was blind

♪ But now I see. ♪

We are, none of us, cast adrift if we have faith.

Our location, Poplar, has developed through each series.

Morning, Reverend.

Over ten years, housing and fashions change.

We're all girls together, aren't we?

The abiding element

has been a sense of community.

Smile for Mother Mildred.

All islands are like this. All islands have a boundary

and you live your life within it,

and you love it or you break out and make a life elsewhere.

And on every island in the world, no matter how magnificent,

there are those who cannot leave and those who cannot stay.

And I was one of those who could not stay.

We have always helped our neighbours where we can

and the people in this district are our neighbours not

objects of charity or pity.

So, why do you think they chose to come to you?

Because they want to stay in the community.

They want the midwives who saw them through their pregnancy

and they want their families close at hand.

Without the maternity home, many of our patients would have the

choice between giving birth in damp overcrowded housing or a bus ride,

while in labour, to a hospital where their children couldn't visit.

Personally, I don't think that's any choice at all.

Babies are not statistics at Nonnatus House.

We know when they are wanted or unwanted,

whether they are cherished or deprived.

We see when they're in with a chance in life or stand no chance at all.

We value every infant and every mother equally.

We are part of their world and they are part of ours because that is

what happens when you enter people's homes.

Beautiful bunch, eh?

The power of the stories lies in their essential truth.

Joined the Great War and... and never come home.

And my Sally. Yeah.

Circumstances change

but people are much the same from one generation to the next.

I'm sorry. Don't be.

I love them. They loved me.

One of my own personal favourites is a story

of a couple called the Gelins, who lived in Poplar,

and Mrs Gelin was dying and there is one particular scene where

he tells his wife how much he loves her, how much he misses her

and how much he wishes he had told her all these things.

And every time I see that scene,

it makes me cry because it reminds me of my own parents

and how they felt for each other.

If I never said I was grateful to you...

...I say it now.

If I never said I was proud of the home that you kept...

...I say it now.

If I didn't tell you that you were beautiful

when your face grew lined...

when you didn't have a new blouse from one summer's end to the next,

I say it now.

And if I didn't tell you that I loved you...

...I say it now.

Missing you,

I will talk about tomorrow.

Even though our stories took place perhaps 70,

60, 70 years ago,

they're still true today.

Because it's honest and because it deals with periods of time,

very particular periods of time,

one's able to see the effect of the changes in society.

My own sense is that people in a way don't change that much

emotionally, but our lives are run by what happens around us,

which we felt very much with Covid.

I mean, we've all had to adapt to a very different way of life

and I think it's a wonderful opportunity doing this

to address all of those things, all of those problems, the frailties,

the vulnerability, the humour, the resilience of people.

This way, Doctor. He's just round here.

We need an ambulance right away.

And bring something to keep him warm.

Every year, when I start to plan my stories,

I go into medical archives.

One of the things I find very interesting is

when I started writing Call The Midwife, we would have TB stories,

we would have polio stories.

Now I can't tell polio stories and I can't tell TB stories,

because they did not exist at that time, they were being stamped out.

Timer's on!

The Christmas special

is, as always with Heidi, she creates a really

exciting and different story.

And it's also very measured in terms of bringing in all

of the characters because in a way, it's an introduction

each year to the series, so that you

remember where everybody is

and what they're about and what they're doing.

So we are in the Turners' house

and it's our most contemporary set.

Very '60s, the kitchen and furniture.

We're celebrating Christmas here at the moment and the important

thing about Christmas is the decorations the children do.

Last year they made Father Christmases,

so they will recognise things that they did last year,

which I think gives the charm

and the reality to their Christmas tree.

Happy Christmas, Nurse.

Liqueur chocolates! How decadent!

And a urine sample.

Sister Monica Joan has arranged the figurines in what she calls,

"conversational groupings".

What, in the name of goodness,

is the Angel Gabriel going to say to the ass?!

'62 going into '63, there's something that obviously

presented itself to us straight away

and that was something known as the Big Freeze.

Ooh!

Fred! A long time since we've seen anything like this!

Morning, Nurse Crane, or should I say, er,

baby, it's cold outside.

It was quite astonishing with icicles hanging off the roof

and it affected a lot of things, people's travel,

the milk floats didn't arrive,

people aren't getting heat at home.

That'll teach you to snub complimentary thermals.

Babies being born again without electricity -

all the problems that that brings.

Put that in with him.

Don't seem right, sending a bubby out into the cold.

Help! Help! Quickly!

He's alive! I thought he was stillborn!

We, as ever, at Christmas, tell stories which are

quite emotional and challenging at times,

but resolve in an incredibly

joyful, positive, loving way.

I can't allow that on the premises until it's passed a fire test.

Aluminium trees are highly inflammable.

Good donkey. No, you're not going to go.

Please.

Look at you!

Absent friends!

Merry Christmas, everybody!

The first time that we sang with

the choir, and it was at night and they came into the chapel,

it wasn't their first scene

but it was the first time we'd all been there and it was sublime.

We sang Hark The Herald Angels Sing

and it was very, very uplifting. Wonderful!

♪ Glory to the newborn king. ♪

Hallelujah!

Characters are sometimes severely tested,

but there are moments too, of sheer joy and abandon.

The love and energy

of these scenes are vital to the success of Call The Midwife.

Open for business.

Did you do all of this for me?

I do everything for you...

...always.

We would like to thank all of

the actors and the thousands of crew members who have helped us

and supported us over the last ten years.

But most of all, we would like to thank you, our audience,

but hopefully, we will see you very soon.

Thank you so much for watching over ten years and if you're new to the

show, you've got loads of episodes to watch, so get watching!

Thank you for watching but thank you for supporting us,

because there's no way a show could do that for ten seasons

without that really loyal fan base.

We love all fans of Call The Midwife but there's an extra special

thank you to fans who've been with us from the beginning.

That is why we're still here.

It's very, very special, this show.

It's not like any other job I've ever done.

We're sincere, we believe it's something beautiful,

that it's about life and love and death

and all those important things

and we absolutely mean it.

As long as you still want to watch us, we will still

try giving you the best we can, that's all we can say.

And thank you for watching.

Stay with us. We've more to do!

We are the sisters of St Raymond Nonnatus,