03 February 2024 , 20:22
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Filming of Call the Midwife was "thrown into chaos" during production of the next episode, which sees several characters venture to the seaside for a day out.
Some cast and crew members of the BBC period drama are understood to have spent time filming at a beach in West Sussex for the fifth episode of the new series. The upcoming episode is scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday evening.
The Mirror previously reported that a cast member had said they ended up getting hypothermia. Other remarks about the filming have now been shared by colleagues, such as the suggestion that someone was "blinded" by sand.
Stephen McGann (front left), pictured with co-stars, has spoken about filming scenes for Call the Midwife at a coastal location (BBC)Stephen McGann, 61 - who's played Dr. Patrick Turner since the first series - told the Sun that conditions on location presented a "challenge". He teased that the cast were "cowering" from the wind and sand during the production. He told the outlet: "The director was blinded by the sand, and the hair, the poor hair and make-up people... because everybody's hairdo had just… with the salt and the wind and the sand. It just looked terrible and we were all cowering."
The actor said that although it proved a "challenge" for the cast and crew, he also found it "hilarious". Stephen further commented in the interview that getting to "go away" to film the scenes outside of the BBC show's studio was "sweet". Georgie Glen, 67 - who plays secretary Millicent Higgins - described the weather conditions as "terrible". She said: "The sand in the eyes, that was the worst." Whilst Natalie Quarry, 25 - who joined the cast as Rosalind Clifford in the latest series - said: "The director got an eye infection!"
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The conditions on location are said to have led to the cast redoing some shots on the regular set. Rebecca Gethings - who plays Sister Veronica - told the Sun that a beach hut was "reconstructed" in the studio, with her saying that they had to redo a scene in which they were "cheersing with ice creams" because it had been "so blustery" at the coast.
His colleague Georgie Glen (right), pictured with some of their co-stars, has also discussed having worked on the new series (BBC)It comes after cast members spoke about the conditions to the Mirror recently. Several of them spoke to us about the "horrendeous" weather, which has been attributed to Storm Agnes, ahead of the episode airing later this weekend. Cliff Parisi, 63 - who plays Fred Buckle on the show - said: "Everything was going sideways. The wind was unbelievable, it was so cold. I was wearing a shirt with a hanky on my head."
He continued: "I managed to keep the hanky the whole time - but I got hypothermia in the end. They had to take me off set. I had to warm up, I couldn't go back on." The actor suggested they had done "most" of the filming by then and he's said to have "recovered quickly" after being wrapped in a foil blanket. Cliff added about the experience in the interview: "It was a laugh, but it was difficult to film."
The former EastEnders star further commented: "Things were flying all over the place. Hair and make-up gave up and ran for cover. One of the crews did as well, we had two cameras then we had one. There was sand in everything."
Call the Midwife continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday from 8pm. You can catch up on previous episodes of the latest series through the streaming platform now and past series are also available.