L-R: Top – Julie Hesmondhalgh (Image: James Melia), Amy Booth-Steel (Image: Dujonna Gift), Helen Schlesinger (Image: Chris Mann), Helena Wilson (Image: Phil Sharp), Bally Gill (Image: David Reiss). Bottom – Liv Andrusier (Image: Kim Hardy), Lizzie Back (Image: Chris Davis), Ellie Mckay (Image: George Tomlinson), Ciaran Bowling (Image: Matt Nalton), Ami Metcalf (Image: Harry Livingstone), and Ben Rose (Image: Robin Savage).
The BBC and Neal Street have announced that filming is now underway on ‘Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms’, a brand-new prequel series set in Poplar during World War Two.
The three-part Christmas special is filming at Call the Midwife’s studio home in Longcross, Surrey, with further details about a full-length ‘Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms’ series set to be announced in due course.
Created and written by Heidi Thomas, the prequel turns the clock back to September 1939, when Sister Monica Joan is in her prime, Sister Julienne and Sister Evangelina are young and zealous, and Nonnatus House remains the beating heart of Poplar. Together with Sister Alice and local GP Dr Kit, the nuns dedicate their lives to mothers, babies and the poor, but this is a world before gas and air, penicillin, a cure for TB, or the welfare state.
Then war is declared, and things get even harder. As the blackout and Blitz take hold, three young secular midwives, Sybil, Olive and Marianne, receive a baptism of fire. While bombs fall, women give birth underground, families are shattered, children run wild, and whole streets are reduced to rubble. Through it all, courage, compassion and resilience help the community fight to survive.
The series is narrated by Jenny Agutter (Call the Midwife, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) as the older Sister Julienne, with a new cast playing some very familiar characters in their younger years.
Julie Hesmondhalgh (Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Broadchurch) guest stars as Sister Alice, alongside Amy Booth-Steel (Down Cemetery Road, Doctor Who) as Sister Evangelina, Helen Schlesinger (Ted Lasso, Albion) as Sister Monica Joan, and Helena Wilson (The Hills of California, The Custom of the Country) as Sister Julienne. Dr Kit Malhotra is played by Bally Gill (Slow Horses, Interview with a Vampire).
Martin McCann (Blue Lights, Hostage) guest stars as Tommy Moffat, with Rachel O’Connell (The Young Offenders, EastEnders) as his wife Mary.
The young midwives are played by Liv Andrusier (The Witcher, Fiddler on the Roof) as Marianne Siegler, Lizzie Back (Grantchester, Grace) as Sybil Maxted, and Ellie Mckay (Hijack, Austin) as Olive Dobbs.
We are also getting younger versions of some other Call the Midwife favourites, as Ciaran Bowling (Dune Prophecy, Pierre) stars as Fred Buckle, Ami Metcalf (Sister Boniface Mysteries, Walking And Talking) as his wife Betty, and Ben Rose (This Town) as Dr Patrick Turner.
“Having loved and lived with the Sisters of Nonnatus House for so many years, I found myself longing to turn the clock back and tell the story of their finest hour – the Blitz. Who were Sister Monica Joan, Sister Julienne, and Sister Evangelina, when they were young? What did they do, how did they survive, and how did the conflict change them?
“Above all else, Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms is about what happens when women go to war. It is about love and birth, separation and courage, lipstick and nylons (or the lack thereof). But it is also a medical drama, set in a devastating landscape where even the nurses cannot know if they will live till morning.
“I thought I had cried all my tears when Sister Monica Joan died, at the end of Call the Midwife’s 15th series. But the thought of her back on her bike, cycling through an air raid, set me off again, as did images of young Sister Julienne shaking when the sirens sound, and Fred Buckle still in his 20s, black with soot and sweat as a volunteer fireman. Then I’d be laughing at Sister Evangelina, in her element as an Air Raid Warden, or the juvenile Dr Turner turning up at a dance and being shy with girls.
“Sisters in Arms has been a joy to write – like returning to the family home and finding all the people I have ever loved made young again and filled with new energy. I can’t wait to start filming and look forward to sharing our new show with Call the Midwife’s fantastic fans.”
That is Heidi Thomas OBE, creator and writer, who clearly had a lot of fun diving back into the younger lives of these characters. And, frankly, the idea of young Sister Evangelina as an Air Raid Warden feels like one of those “how has this not already happened?” moments.
Dame Pippa Harris DBE, executive producer, adds: “It’s thrilling to watch Heidi Thomas create a series which I know will delight our loyal Call the Midwife audience, as well as drawing in new viewers. It echoes the original through its blend of engrossing medical stories, wit, and pathos, while the backdrop of WW2 adds a completely fresh layer of tension and jeopardy to the drama. Heidi’s extraordinary skill with character and story means viewers are in for a real treat this Christmas.”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “We feel immensely proud to continue our partnership with the Call the Midwife team to take this very special, much-loved series in such an exciting direction. The cast assembled for Sisters in Arms are every bit as wonderful as Heidi’s scripts, and we can’t wait to take BBC viewers to the Poplar of 1939 to get to know them.”
The original ‘Call the Midwife’ has been one of the BBC’s most reliable drama powerhouses, ranking among the top five highest-rated dramas from January 2023 to date across all UK channels and streamers. It has also been among the BBC’s top five most-watched dramas every year between 2012 and 2026 to date.
Commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, ‘Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms’ is made by All3Media’s Neal Street for the BBC. The series is created, written and executive produced by Heidi Thomas, executive produced by Pippa Harris for Neal Street, and Ann Tricklebank, who also serves as producer. Tricklebank will direct episodes one and two, with John Maidens directing episode three. Jo McClellan is the executive producer for the BBC. BBC Studios is handling global sales.
‘Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms’ premieres Christmas 2026 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. If I want to keep track of this or any other shows, I can add them via our Never Miss system, and I’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date. Visit Never Miss.
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