Call the Midwife Christmas special 2022: when is it on TV, who is in cast, is there a season 12 of BBC series?

Call the Midwife is once again returning to BBC One for its Christmas Special this holiday season.

Fans will be delighted to hear that the festive episode will kick off the return of season 12 in January 2023, with familiar faces including Helen George as fan favourite Trixie Franklin making an appearance.

The festivities at Nonnatus House are just kicking off, with a brand new storyline, following on from the terrible train crash at the end of season 11.

So what can we expect for the Call the Midwife Christmas Special? Here’s everything you need to know.

When is Call the Midwife Christmas Special on TV?

The Call the Midwife Christmas Special will air on BBC One on Christmas Day at 7.55pm.

The show’s official Instagram account shared a sneak peak of the episode with fans in a post. The caption said: “Hello all! Today we’re delighted to give you this first behind-scenes photo peek at the new Call the Midwife Christmas Special! And for their first Christmas photo session, our cast — Leonie Elliott (Lucille), Helen George (Trixie) and Megan Cusack (Nancy) — subjected our poor photographer to a fine British tradition — the snowball fight!”

It also gave a hint at the new season, adding: “We’re delighted to confirm that the results of our team’s hard work on the Christmas Special are looking FANTASTIC, and we just can’t wait to show you more — so stay tuned to this page as we start to get ready for our brand new special, and Series 12!”

What will happen in the Call the Midwife Christmas Special?

Known for its heartwarming scenes, the official BBC synopsis for the Christmas Special reads: “It is December 1967, and with Christmas fast approaching, life in Poplar is returning to normal after the terrible train crash.

“The midwives move the maternity clinic into new premises and are delighted when one of their first patients through the door is Rhoda Mullocks, who the team know well. Rhoda is heavily pregnant and understandably nervous after her last baby was born with limbs affected by thalidomide.

“Nurse Crane cares for a heavily pregnant single mother, recently released from prison, while Sister Frances is called out to deliver a Sylheti mother’s child in a garment factory in a rough area of Poplar.

“Meanwhile, Fred decides that Poplar needs to come together to raise money for those families still affected by the train crash and pitches the wonderful idea of a festive talent show – Poplartunity Knocks!”

Who will star in Call the Midwife Christmas Special?

There will be many familiar faces returning for the Christmas Special, including fan favourite Trixie Franklin (Helen George), who when we last left off in season 11, was developing a romance with Matthew Aylward played by Olly Rix, with the pair even sharing a kiss.

The Call the Midwife Christmas Special cast will include:

• Helen George as Trixie Franklin
• Stephen McGann as Patrick Turner
• Max Macmillan as Timothy Turner
• Leonie Elliott as Lucille Robinson
• Zephryn Taitte as Cyril Robinson
• Jenny Agutter as Sister Julienne
• Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan
• Megan Cusack as Nurse Nancy Corrigan
• Linda Bassett as Nurse Phyllis Crane
• Georgie Glen as Miss Higgins
• Ella Bruccoleri as Sister Frances
• Olly Rix as Matthew Aylward
• Cliff Parisi as Fred Buckle
• Liz White as Rhoda Mullucks
• Laura Main as Shelagh Turner
• Annabelle Apsion as Violet Buckle
• Daniel Laurie as Reggie Jackson

Will there be a season 12?

Call the Midwife fans will be excited to know that the show has been renewed for both seasons 12 and 13. Fans of the series won’t have long to wait for the new series, with episode one of season 12 kicking off on BBC One on New Year’s Day, just one week after the Christmas Special has aired.

Reported by Metro, show writer and creator Heidi Thomas reflected on the Call the Midwife “journey”, Thomas said: “It’s an incredible privilege to be able to look back on a decade of Call The Midwife, and yet know that our journey is still very far from over.”

She explained: “We are thrilled to be going on for a few more years! Like Nonnatus House itself, we have a proud past but an even more exciting future – full of old favourites, fresh faces, higher hemlines, new ideas.” Adding: “The stories we tell are like babies – they never stop coming, we love them all, and we vow to do our best by every single one.”