Call the Midwife to 'take a break' and launch spin-off, says creator
25 February 2025, 11:09
Call the Midwife screenwriter Heidi Thomas has addressed the future of the heartwarming period drama.
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Call the Midwife's creator has revealed the beloved BBC show could "take a break" in the near future, while producers question its future.
Writer Heidi Thomas, who has been working on the series since it first hit screens in 2012, admitted bosses were thinking of pausing production as they pondered what to do with the period drama.
The heartwarming Sunday night show follows a group of midwives working in London's East End during the 1950s and is currently airing its 14th series.
But the team behind the popular series have hinted at a change in direction – and it could involve a potential spin-off.
Speaking to the Radio Times, screenwriter Heidi, 62, said: "Those of us who are most invested with the show, cast and producers alike, who have been there since the beginning, it is our lives.
"I don’t believe Call the Midwife will ever end. But I do think we might take a break at some point."
She hinted that BBC bosses were keeping their controversial plans under wraps, admitting she wasn't "in a position to talk about things, really".
Addressing whether she believes the show will ever be taken off air, she said: "There is a sort of a rolling, ongoing conversation that we always have at this point every year, which is: is there an end point?
"What are we working towards?"
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Fans can rest easy though as the writer revealed that if the main series was to take a break, other shows would likely roll off the back of it.
"Increasingly, we do see opportunities to expand our storytelling world," she added.
"So if we do take a break, it will be with a view to looking at other aspects of Call the Midwife."
When asked to confirm if she was alluding to a spin-off series, she replied: "Watch this space."
The news comes after actress Megan Cusack revealed she was leaving Call the Midwife after four years in her role as Nancy.
While it hasn't been confirmed how the fan favourite will exit the show, the BBC star confirmed it was time for a new chapter in her acting career.
Speaking about her upcoming move, she told the Radio Times: "Sometimes, you've got to step out of your comfort zone to grow.
"I've learnt so much, but I'm at the start of my career and I need to take a leap of faith.
"It's bittersweet, really. I've made lifelong friendships there and I get to take those with me.
"But when I think about not rocking up to set and seeing Tim, who's part of the grips team, with his guitar hanging out of his van and serenading people at half six in the morning… It really has been like a family."
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