BBC WORLDWIDE AND PBS ANNOUNCE CALL THE MIDWIFE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL AND SEASON 7 FILMING

BBC WORLDWIDE AND PBS ANNOUNCE CALL THE MIDWIFE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL AND SEASON 7 FILMING

Neal Street Productions' Smash British Series Continues to Be a Hit With PBS Viewers

Leonie Elliott Joins Regular Cast as Midwife Lucille

Anita Dobson Guest Stars in Christmas Special

ARLINGTON, VA; MAY 31, 2017 -PBS announced today that the popular Christmas special and a seventh season of the critically acclaimed BBC drama CALL THE MIDWIFE will return to PBS.

The CALL THE MIDWIFE HOLIDAY SPECIAL will air in late 2017 and the seventh season will air in the spring of 2018.

Joining the cast in Season 7 is Leonie Elliott (Wondrous Oblivion, Danny and the Human Zoo, Black Mirror ), who plays Nurse Lucille Anderson, the first West Indian midwife to be featured as a regular character in the series. Elegant, funny and clever, Nurse Lucille is swift to settle in and brings a fresh new energy to life at Nonnatus House. Through her eyes, viewers explore the experiences of Caribbean nurses who went to London in the 1960s to support the growing Nonnatus House.

Written by Heidi Thomas, the Christmas special opens with Poplar under a thick blanket of snow, as the midwives face the challenge of the coldest winter for 300 years. The winter of 1963 saw temperatures plunge to a record low and the whole country brought to a standstill due to the severe weather. Battling snow, ice, power cuts and frozen pipes, the midwives strive to provide the best possible care for their patients. Valerie helps a young couple, newly arrived in London, who experience a traumatic birth, and Sister Julienne strives to reunite a family torn apart by a tormenting father. Anita Dobson ( EastEnders, Doctors ) guest stars as Mabel.

Season 7 begins with the nuns and nurses being tested as they have never been before, both personally and professionally. All around them they see the old East End vanishing, as slum clearances make way for bold new tower blocks to accommodate expanding communities. Their work brings them into contact with a wide range of challenges, from leprosy, tokophobia and stroke, to Huntington's chorea, cataracts and unmarried mothers. Trixie's romance with Christopher continues to develop, while Tom and Barbara enjoy life as a married couple. Nurse Crane finds her authority questioned from an unexpected quarter and Sister Monica Joan is forced to accept her failing faculties. Life for the Turners is turned upside down when Shelagh decides to employ an au pair.

CALL THE MIDWIFE continues to delight viewers in both the UK and the U.S. with charming storylines and loveable characters, said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming, PBS. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with our BBC and Neal Street partners as we bring the midwives back this December and embark on a seventh season together.

We can't wait to introduce the audience to our new midwife, Lucille, played by the hugely talented and captivating Leonie Elliott, said Dame Pippa Harris, executive producer for Neal Street Productions. From her first audition, Leonie managed to embody the essence of this elegant, intelligent, witty character, who Heidi Thomas has created with her customary skill. Lucille is a fantastic addition to the Nonnatus House team and we know she will be warmly welcomed by the nuns and midwives.

CALL THE MIDWIFE stars Jenny Agutter ( The Railway Children, Spooks ) as Sister Julienne, Linda Bassett ( East Is East, Lark Rise to Candleford ) as Nurse Phyllis Crane, Judy Parfitt ( Little Dorrit, Girl With a Pearl Earring), who was nominated for a 2013 Satellite Award for her work as Sister Monica Joan, Helen George ( Hollyoaks, Doctors ) as Trixie Franklin, Laura Main ( Monarch of the Glen ) as Shelagh Turner, Charlotte Ritchie ( Life of Riley, Fresh Meat ) as Nurse Barbara Gilbert, Victoria Yeates ( Holby City ) as Sister Winifred, Jennifer Kirby ( Holby City ) as Nurse Valerie Dyer, Stephen McGann ( Emmerdale ) as Dr. Patrick Turner, Jack Ashton ( Endeavour, Of Mary ) as Tom Hereward, Cliff Parisi ( EastEnders ) as Fred, Annabelle Apsion ( Shameless ) as Violet Buckle, Jack Hawkins ( Holby City ) as Christopher Dockerill and Leonie Elliott (Wondrous Oblivion, Danny and the Human Zoo) as Nurse Lucille Anderson.

Season 5 of CALL THE MIDWIFE, which aired on PBS in spring 2016, averaged a 2.21 household rating with an average audience of 3.1 million viewers (P2 ), and the series has seen an overall growth of 6 percent since its Season 1 debut. There were 2.1 million streams of Season 5 across station-branded PBS platforms (April 4-June 7, 2016). Through six episodes, Season 6 of CALL THE MIDWIFE is outpacing its two most recent U.S. runs by averaging a 2.40 HH rating and delivering nearly 3.4 million viewers (P2 ) per minute. Momentum has increased over the course of the current season, with the April 30, 2017, broadcast of Episode 5 (2.60 HH, 3.7 MM P2 ) marking the series' third highest-rated U.S. outing of all time. Moreover, CALL THE MIDWIFE landed PBS the #3 spot among Women 40 for the April 2017 Sunday 8 pm timeslot. Season 6 to date, 9.3 million Americans have tuned to one or more episodes of CALL THE MIDWIFE on television. In addition, the season has generated 1.6 million digital streams.

Made by Neal Street Productions for BBC One and PBS, CALL THE MIDWIFE has also been one of Britain's most popular drama series since it launched in 2012, and it continues to be one of the most-watched dramas in the UK, with all six seasons to date gaining over 10 million viewers. More than 11 million people watched CALL THE MIDWIFE Season 6 Episode 3, and the series itself rated even higher than Season 5. CALL THE MIDWIFE has recently been voted the Best Drama of the 21st Century in the BFI & Radio Times Festival Audience Poll.

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