Call the Midwife is set to welcome back a familiar face in the forthcoming mini-series, Sisters in Arms. The three-part special rewinds the clock to the Second World War, with original star Ami Metcalf returning to the BBC One drama.
Who was Ami Metcalf in Call the Midwife?
Ami Metcalf starred as Lynette Duncan in the first Call the Midwife Christmas special, which aired on December 25, 2012. In that episode, Lynette was a frightened 15-year-old who hid her pregnancy and gave birth alone in an abandoned house, leaving her baby at the doors of Nonnatus House.
The next morning, Trixie and Cynthia found the baby boy blue and hardly breathing but managed to save his life. Lynette was eventually identified as his mother, and her family accepted the child home before he was adopted.
In Sisters in Arms, Metcalf plays Betty Buckle, the first wife of Fred Buckle, portrayed by Ciaran Bowling.
What is the Call the Midwife prequel about?
Set in September 1939, the prequel follows Sister Monica Joan, Sister Julienne, and Sister Evangelina as young and zealous nuns at Nonnatus House, the beating heart of Poplar. With no gas and air, no penicillin, no cure for TB, and no welfare state, life becomes even harder when World War II is announced.
Alongside Sister Alice, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh, and local GP Dr Kit, played by Bally Gill, the nuns dedicate themselves to mothers, babies, and those living in poverty. Three young midwives—Sybil, Olive, and Marianne—complete the team, receiving a baptism of fire as the blackout and the Blitz take hold.
While bombs rain from the sky, women give birth underground, families are shattered, children run wild, and whole streets are reduced to rubble. But courage, compassion, and resilience triumph as the community unites to survive.
Jenny Agutter, who stars as Sister Julienne in the main series, narrates the prequel. The air date for Sisters in Arms has yet to be confirmed. Call the Midwife is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
