Call the Midwife season 13 episode 3 sees huge drama for one of the show's most popular characters when a freak accident leaves Fred Buckle fighting for his life.
The drama comes after Reggie and Fred agree to help Cyril clear an overgrown garden so that they can make a tea room to raise funds for the local area, but while Fred is always happy to lend a hand where needed, this time his kind gesture leaves him facing grave danger.
Here's everything that happened in Call the Midwife season 13 episode 3...
The episode opens with Reggie arriving home and hearing the news that Violet is running for mayor... he's quick to offer his support, along with Fred, who thinks Violet will make a great mayor for Tower Hamlets.
Meanwhile, there is glamour at the latest antenatal morning run by the Nonnatus House midwives as a famous model, who is also expecting her first baby imminently, arrives for her check-up. The mum-to-be, Gillian Baxter, openly admits that she wants to have a girl as there are more modelling opportunities for her and that she has already booked her baby in for its first modelling job in a few weeks.
It soon turns out that Gillian't baby is breech and that they will need her to come to the maternity hospital the following day to see if they can manually turn the baby around.
Meanwhile, Reggie and Fred get to work on the overgrown garden that they are clearing for Cyril, and when a bit of metal gets stuck in Reggie's lawnmower, Fred removes it but cuts his hand badly in the process. He wraps it up in a hanky and doesn't think much more of it, until he later gets it dressed by Trixie and she asks if he is up to date with his tetanus jabs. Fred says he is, but it is clear that he isn't really listening, and is instead more concerned about Violet's bid to become mayor.
Violet has a battle on her hands as she hands in her formal application to be mayor, because another local counsellor, Bill Regan, is also running, and he is bad news. Not only is he a local landlord with many complaints against him from his tenants, but he is also rude to Violet, telling her he will win the role of mayor simply because he is a man.
While Gillian goes into labour and delivers a baby girl while she is still breech, Fred is across town looking very unwell. He tells Violet he doesn't think he'll make her mayor campaign meeting because he doesn't feel up to it. She won't take no for an answer and tells him he must be there, but when she leaves and he goes to get ready, he collapses and has a fit.
Reggie finds Fred collapsed on the floor and runs to Nonnatus House to get help, Trixie is first on the scene and calls an ambulance, but it is clear that Fred is gravely ill and Violet is called out of her meeting and told to get to his bedside as soon as possible.
Everyone is beside themselves as Fred fights for his life after being diagnosed with tetanus that he contracted from his hand wound, and they are worried when he then starts struggling to breathe and is put on a ventilator.
While the nuns at Nonnatus House pray for Fred to get better, Gillian is faced with devastating news when Dr Turner thinks her baby daughter, Stephanie, might have bilateral hip dysplasia after Phyllis notices something wrong with the baby's legs. Dr Turner sends Stephanie to St Cuthbert's for an x-ray, and his fears are confirmed, leaving Gillian upset when she is told her baby faces many months of wearing a heavy body brace to correct the congenital hip condition if she is going to walk later in life.
Gillian struggles to come to terms with her daughter's diagnosis and hates the fact the harness has to be worn over clothes, meaning that she won't be able to do the modeling job that she had lined up for her. She shuts everyone out, including her husband, and takes off the harness because she hates that her baby is different.
She goes to Nonnatus House to give Stephanie away, telling them she is ashamed of herself and she isn't fit to be a mother, but Phyllis and Rosalind encourage her to open up and eventually Rosalind gets through to Gillian and she accepts the support that she is being offered.
Meanwhile, Reggie encourages Violet to continue with her mayoral campaign after she announces that she is going to pull out because of Fred being so poorly. She goes along to a meeting to give her closing speech and takes Matthew along for support, but she doesn't need his help because she gives an amazing speech and wins the majority vote, making her the new mayor of Tower Hamlets.
The end of the episode sees everyone relieved when Fred wakes up and although he isn't out of the woods just yet, he is on the road to recovery at last. When Reggie gets his first pay packet he uses the money to pay for a restaurant to bring a meal to Fred in hospital.
Meanwhile, Rosalind holds her first post-natal evening class for new mothers and it is a huge success, especially when Gillian comes along with baby Stephanie and they both model a new baby carrier that Rosalind has made.
Call the Midwife season 13 will air in the UK on Sunday evenings at 8pm on BBC One. You will also be able to catch up on iPlayer after each episode has aired.
In the US, season 13 will start on Sunday, March 17, 2024 on PBS.
