‘Call the Midwife’ promises fireworks in Season 13 with filming update

The makers of Call the Midwife have provided an update on the new season!

2024’s episodes began shooting in May, returning to Poplar in the year 1969 and welcoming two brand new midwives to the cast.

Season 13 will be preceded by a Christmas special next month.

The BBC’s hit period drama about a group of nurse midwives in the East End of London concluded its twelfth run back in February, so we can’t wait to get back to Nonnatus House.

Fortunately it sounds like production is all on track, following a brief break in the summer.

“We are now racing towards the end of filming for series 13, as the days shorten and the nights stretch away into winter,” the show’s Facebook page announced this week.

It was previously revealed that upcoming story lines will explore issues surrounding Cerebral Palsy, Congenital Hip Dysplasia, Tetanus, Porphyria and TB, as poor housing continues to blight areas of Poplar presenting complex social and health challenges to the Nonnatus team.

We’ve now got some more details on what’s coming up and apparently we should expect fireworks in Season 13 – literally!

“As we are a show that faithfully follows the seasons of each year, our stories inevitably turn towards those things that the British traditionally use to light up their spirits on cold nights… like firework displays!” the Call the Midwife team posted on Facebook.

“Call the Midwife is no stranger to fireworks – and no Poplar light show would be complete without Fred Buckle risking life and limb in the service of his community!”

Here’s a sneak peek at actor Cliff Parisi filming the explosive scenes:

“Diminishing sunlight inevitably affects any film production at this time of year,” the show’s official Facebook folks explained.

“Our daytime external scenes have fewer hours in the day in which to be filmed – but, conversely, night shots don’t have to be filmed so late at night.

“Also, the old mansion you know as Nonnatus House becomes rather spooky and forbidding in the increasing gloom! Eek!

“Yet there are deeper community roots to these many festivals that bring us together in winter. In so many cultures and across the vastness of time and geography we all seem to find ways to celebrate through the long nights – taming the darkness with a light we can share in common.”

Now that’s why we love Call the Midwife!

“Call the Midwife is a drama about the light we share in common,” they added. “The child that lights a family. The selfless care that lights a community. The community that strives to shine brighter than the total of those individual lights it contains.

“In this way, our drama finds a strange kind of home in these dark days. And there’s no brighter episode in our annual calendar than that which occurs at the gloomiest time of all… Christmas!”

Call the Midwife will be back on BBC One and PBS with 2023’s festive special on Monday 25 December, followed by a thirteenth season in early 2024.

“Not long to go now…” they teased on Facebook.

If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for a Call the Midwife fan, check out Jennifer Worth’s original book that the series is based on, and this lovely official cook book.

Season 12 of Call the Midwife is available on DVD on Amazon.