It’s a real-life drama for Call The Midwife
THE new series of Call The Midwife was thrown into chaos after Miranda Hart pulled out at short notice, it was revealed yesterday.
The actress and comedian who played midwife Camilla “Chummy” Browne, said last year she would not be returning to the smash-hit period drama despite suggestions otherwise from producers.
Hart, 44, was written into the sixth series – which airs on Sunday – but the drama had to be hastily rescripted when she withdrew.
Creator and writer Heidi Thomas said: “We were thrilled when Miranda approached us and I storylined the series for her, but at relatively short notice she had to withdraw.”
Asked how much notice she was given, she said: “I can’t say, but it was short. We were hopeful right up to the end that we could make it work, but we couldn’t. I just rewrote the series without Miranda in it, which was sad because we would have loved having her in it. She is part of the Call The Midwife family. But [this time] it wasn’t meant to be.”
Hart, who left the show during series four because of work commitments, said she could not return because she could not make the schedule work.
The new instalment of the BBC One drama – whose stars include Helen George, Charlotte Ritchie, and Emerald Fennell – is set in 1962 east London. It promises to be grittier than previous series, tackling issues such as domestic violence, Down’s Syndrome and the Pill.
Thomas said that she had received “expressions of interest from very senior actresses” to appear because of its strong roles for women.