Call the Midwife is set to introduce two new characters to its main cast as filming for the 13th series gets underway.
Two new pupil midwives will join Nonnatus House who will be played by Renee Bailey and Natalie Quarry.
Bailey will play Joyce Highland, from Trinidad and is described as hardworking, bright and kind, but also with a traumatic past that she cannot conceal forever.
Meanwhile, Quarry will play Rosalind Clifford who is described as warm, passionate and funny.
📞 Call the Midwife! Production begins on series 13 of the award winning drama
— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) July 4, 2023
The well-loved cast returns and Nonnatus House welcomes pupil midwives Joyce Highland and Rosalind Clifford
More info ➡️ https://t.co/38WBTLSvgD pic.twitter.com/ndi0ykuIii
The new series, which will be set in 1969, will consist of eight hour-long episodes to air in 2024.
What storylines will Call the Midwife explore for 13th series
The show will continue to explore complex medical and personal situations on the midwifery and district nursing rounds and will see stories from within the Sylheti and Nigerian communities and from around the docks.
Additionally, it will go over issues surrounding cerebral palsy, congenital hip dysplasia, tetanus, porphyria and TB.
Creator and writer Heidi Thomas said: “After so many years, our much-loved regular characters are like family to me – and our wonderful fans so often tell me that they feel the same.
“I know they will be as thrilled as I am that series 13 of Call the Midwife is full of beautiful moments that celebrate the young, the old, and the precious ties that bind them.
Executive producer Dame Pippa Harris added: “We’re so excited to be back for our 13th series, with all the treasured Nonnatus team returning – and also to welcome Renee and Natalie to the cast.
“They’re a wonderful addition to the show and I can’t wait for the audience to meet Joyce and Rosalind and to follow their journeys, by bicycle, through the streets and lives of Poplar’s residents.
“There’s so much in store for our audience this series, thanks to the perennial brilliance of Heidi Thomas, whose stories interweave joy, despair, love, history and medicine with a gorgeously diverse array of newborn babies.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here