All you need to know about Call the Midwife on Christmas Day and when show ends

21 December 2023 , 09:40

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When is Call the Midwife on Christmas day and when does it end?

Call The Midwife's Christmas special has become an annual tradition, and 2023 is no different.

The Christmas Day episode - which airs on BBC One - will mark the first instalment of the 13th season of the popular hospital drama. We left off after Trixie (Helen George) and Matthew's (Olly Rix) wedding, with the newlyweds looking forward to their first Christmas together.

But what can we expect from the new episode and when can we see it?

This year's offering sees the residents of Poplar looking forward to Christmas 1968, as well as the upcoming launch of Apollo 8's moon mission. Meanwhile, Sister Monica Joan is worried that it's her last year to celebrate the festivities, upset that she might not live to see man walk on the moon.

Trixie with baby Jonty (BBC / Neal Street Productions / Laurence Cendrowicz)

Starting at 8.15pm on December 25, the Call The Midwife Christmas special is almost an hour and a half long, meaning it will end at about 9.45pm, followed by EastEnders.

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Elsewhere in the episode, Shelagh and Dr Turner attempt to navigate family life but become unsettled after a parcel arrives from May's mother in Hong Kong. And Sister Julienne offers Colette the chance to move into Nonnatus House, with Nancy thrilled to spend more time with her and see her grow up.

This will be a welcome surprise for fans who were left worried that Nancy (Megan Cusack) might take up the offer of a new nursing job out in the countryside. Nancy decided in last series' finale that she'd wait until after Trixie and Matthew's wedding to decide, leaving her fate up in the air.

Sister Monica Joan is feeling morbid (BBC / Neal Street Productions / Laurence Cendrowicz)

Meanwhile, rumours of Helen George's character and her on-screen husband Matthew (Olly Rix) leaving the show have been quashed, as reported by Hello!. The 39.-year-old, who will embark on her tour of The King and I theatre production in January, remained vague about her future though. Speaking in a new interview with The Times, she said: "I don't know what the plan is," adding: "Like in life, you just never know what's going to happen."

Helen went on to say that either way, she'll make sure she stays busy, saying: "I get a bit restless when I have too much time. I don't like to ponder my own thoughts."

And Helen and Olly have fuelled rumours that there is a burgeoning roance between the two after she was spotted leaving her on-screen partner's home on a Sunday morning last month. The newly-single actors both split from their partners in July, and are said to be helping each other through their real life heartbreaks.

According to The Sun on Sunday, an onlooker reported that Olly looked "relaxed", while Helen looked a "little dishevelled" when she left.

A spokesperson for Helen told Mirror Online: "Yes, she went to visit a friend for a cup of tea - like all friends do - and as we have always said, there is nothing more to this."

Amelia Ward