Call the Midwife, which follows a group of midwives in London’s impoverished East End during the 50s and 60s, began back in January 2012.
It has gone on to win several major gongs, including BAFTAs, TV Choice and National Television Awards.
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Series 15 of the hit BBC series begins on Sunday (January 11), and will consist of eight hour-long episodes.
Once the new series of Call the Midwife has concluded, it will be rested temporarily, while the focus shifts to a new prequel series, set in Poplar during World War II, and a film set in 1972.
Call the Midwife being rested will be “hard for all of us”, says Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt, who plays Sister Monica Joan on Call the Midwife, said the break in the show is really going to “shake” her, and will also be “hard” for the entire cast.
Speaking to Radio Times , Parfitt said: “This time of year, you thank God you’re nearly finished because you’re so tired.
“From about the beginning of March, you start thinking how lovely it’ll be to see everyone and start working again. Then it’s April and I usually look forward to April.
“So for it not to be there really shakes me a bit. This company has been through so much together that we are a family. It’ll be hard for all of us.”
Parfitt, 90, has been a part of the Call the Midwife cast since the show began back in 2012, and said she has “loved” playing Sister Monica Joan.
She said: “I’ve always wanted to play a nun because I was educated by nuns – and I loved Monica Joan’s character.
“The way she was written as quirky and offbeat was a joy; she spoke in a different way from everybody else, which is hell to learn.
“People come to her for advice but she’s also highly strung, very sensitive. If she’s thrown off-course, she loses the plot.
“Having all that to play was wonderful. I don’t know what I’ll do without her, actually.”
Call the Midwife creator and writer Heidi Thomas said Parfitt is “one of the finest and most precise actresses of the past century”.
Thomas explained: “Sister Monica Joan was a stand-out character in the original Call the Midwife memoirs, and I knew she was going to be important to the drama.
“In the books, she quotes eloquently from the Bible and the great poets. It is as though the love of language had seeped into her bones.
“Once Judy was cast, her own extraordinary speaking voice and skill with verse came into play.
“I loved writing for Judy – she really is one of the finest and most precise actresses of the past century.
“I have never known her not to say a line exactly as I imagined it, unless of course it was to say it better!”
BBC confirms Call the Midwife “isn’t going anywhere”
Despite Call the Midwife being ‘rested’ for now, the BBC has confirmed the hit series “isn’t going anywhere”, and will return for a 16th series.
The broadcaster said: “The BBC would like to reassure fans that Call The Midwife will remain at the heart of the BBC for years to come.
“As previously announced, there are two Christmas specials, a new series, a film and prequel series, before a sixteenth series in due course.
“Call the Midwife isn’t going anywhere.”
Call the Midwife to be cut from Christmas schedule in 2026
In the meantime, Call the Midwife’s Christmas special is set to be axed from the BBC’s Christmas schedule in 2026.
Since it first aired in 2012, the BBC drama has had an additional festive episode and, more recently, a two-part special.
However, 2026 is set to be the first year without a Call the Midwife special, with it set to be replaced by the new prequel series.
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Thomas announced the plans at a press screening for the upcoming 15th series of the show, according to TV Zone UK.
She shared: “No, there won’t be a Christmas special next Christmas, not in the traditional mould.”
Call the Midwife producer Pippa Harries then confirmed that the new prequel series would debut during Christmas.
Thomas added: “This is really just a very temporary pause in the usual pattern.”
Series 15 of Call the Midwife begins on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday (January 11) at 8pm.
