Call The Midwife To Return

Call The Midwife is to return to the BBC for three more series, it has been announced.

Each series will consist of 8x60' episodes, while there will also be three Christmas specials. The seres – seven, eight, and nine, will take the cast into the mid-1960s.

Call The Midwife is made by Neal Street Productions for BBC One.

Pippa Harris, Executive Producer for Neal Street Productions, said: "Like a truly supportive parent, the BBC has nurtured our series from conception onwards, and this exceptional three-series commission further demonstrates their care and commitment. It's a testament too to the passion, skill and creativity of Heidi Thomas, and to the dedication, talent and brilliance of our cast and crew."

Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, added: "I'm privileged to have Britain's most popular drama series on BBC One, and this new three-series commission underlines our commitment to the show. Call The Midwife continues to raise the bar with each new series and is really valued by audiences. The quality and ambition of the storytelling is credit to the excellence of writer Heidi Thomas, who has successfully brought the show into the 1960s with a diverse range of subjects."

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, commented: "Over the last six series Heidi Thomas and Neal Street Productions have grown Call The Midwife from a Sunday night hit into a drama phenomenon. It has rewarded its large and loyal audience by increasing its scope and ambition from series to series and I am thrilled that BBC Drama will be its home for a further, stellar, three years."

Heidi Thomas, Creator, Writer and Executive Producer, said: "I am hugely excited by the prospect of creating three more series of Call The Midwife. In the 1960s Britain was a country fizzing with change and challenge, and there is so much rich material – medical, social, and emotional – to be explored. We have now delivered well over one hundred babies on screen, and like those babies, the stories keep on coming! Above all else, it is an incredible privilege to work on a show that is made with such care and received with such love."

Image: BBC Media Centre.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre

(JP)