Call the Midwife sets the record straight on big 'misconception' ahead of series 15


The BBC period drama returns with a Christmas special and an eight-episode series


Helen George as Nurse Trixie© BBC
Nicky MorrisActing TV and Film Editor
July 10, 2025
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Call the Midwife has cleared up a "frequent misconception" about the popular BBC period drama in an update from series 15. 

Taking to Instagram, the show revealed people who don't watch the series would be mistaken in thinking that its only viewers are "those old enough to remember the time period depicted".

Alongside a behind-the-scenes snap of Judy Parfitt, who plays Sister Monica Joan, with some of the child actors from the new season, who play Poplar's vulnerable children, the caption read: "We won't go into plot details, but we love what this picture says about our drama – and even about those who watch it."

It went on to state that the show has always celebrated "the value of life at all of its ages", which is reflected in the "great diversity" within the cast. 

The post continued: "So it is with the inhabitants of Nonnatus House - Sister Monica Joan, frail but cherished. Still a valued voice and spirit. Midwives young and old, sharing all their joys and sorrows in a single community of care. And so it is with our own audience," continued the post.

"A frequent misconception by those who never watch Call the Midwife is that it's a drama watched only by those old enough to remember the time period depicted. The elderly. But the facts are rather different. Call the Midwife is a drama watched by a very wide variety of ages - from young adults to the oldest amongst us. No single age group dominates. Our own viewing data tells us this."

© BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney
The series will return with a Christmas special and eight new episodes

The caption concluded: "It's a drama watched by a mass audience because, perhaps, it's a drama that everybody can see themselves in. It's a family show, because families are communities in miniature. And community means something to every one of us. Young and old. Healthy and frail. Poor or privileged. Devout or faithless. Responding to depictions of a care they wish to see reflected in their own world. Aspiring to a good that raises all spirits equally." 

When will season 15 air? 

The show will return with a two-part Christmas special, followed by eight new episodes in January 2026. 

© BBC
Fans can expect a prequel series and film

Viewers can also get excited about a prequel spin-off series set during World War Two, and an upcoming movie, which will be set overseas in 1972, featuring iconic characters from the existing show.

WATCH: Meet the cast of Call the Midwife

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