Call the Midwife reveals behind-the-scenes shots of Christmas special

Helen George in her nurse outfit as Trixie Franklin
(Image credit: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney)

Call the Midwife has released behind-the-scenes photos as filming commences on their upcoming Christmas special.

It might only be May, but fans can start getting excited about the annual treat, which sees all our Call the Midwife favorites celebrating the festive season, but the work never stops for these busy medical professionals.

Last years special saw the devastating after-effects of a train crash in 1967, with life in Poplar attempting to return to normal during the Christmas period. We also saw the maternity clinic moving into new premises and Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett) caring for a heavily pregnant single mother, who was recently released from prison.

While we don't have a full plot for the 2023 Christmas special yet, we do know that filming has commenced and that the Turner family seems to be front and centre.

The official Twitter account for Call the Midwife shared two new photos featuring actors Max Macmillan and Stephen McGann posing in a car with a clapperboard, with the caption teasing they'd be "[taking] to the road".

In a longer Facebook post, they gave fans some more insight into what to expect in upcoming scenes, revealing that filming had taken place at the Royal Dockyard, where fans can also do the official Call the Midwife tour.

They wrote: "Yesterday it was off to the Royal Dockyard in Chatham, Kent, to film some driving sequences for our new Christmas Special.

"This involved a lot of technical fiddling and special effects, but luckily the rain held off! Max Macmillan and Stephen McGann, who play Timothy and Patrick Turner, were confined to the small driver's cabin in their many layers of winter clothing, which — combined with members of the crew squeezed into the back passenger seats — became rather steamy and airless! 

"Also, it was impossible for the other crew to get into the car to present the clapperboard to the camera at the beginning of takes, so the job fell to Max — a job he took very seriously, judging from the picture."

The Christmas special will likely air on December 25, 2023.

Episodes are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK and PBS in the US.

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Now she works for our sister site TechRadar in the same role. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress