IAN HYLAND
On last night’s telly
Call The Midwife, BBC1 ★★★★
Some of the faces on Call The Midwife may have changed over the years but one thing has remained the same throughout.
That is the show’s uncanny knack of mixing hard-hitting – and often disturbing – drama with the kind of gentle comedy you might find on Still Open All Hours. There was a great example of that as the show returned for its eighth series last night.
The main storyline pulled few punches on the issue of backstreet abortions.
And it sat perfectly alongside Dr Turner (Stephen McGann) giving us his best Kenneth Williams face as he examined the “bleedin’ piles” of a Poplar lady who was carrying triplets, and Valerie running a cheeky charity sweepstake on whether the expectant Queen Elizabeth II would be giving birth to a boy or a girl. (It was actually Prince Edward but we never found out who won the sweepstake.)
Call The Midwife’s ability to handle light and shade was probably why the casting department felt confident enough to throw a livewire like Miriam Margolyes into the mix at Christmas.
It was great to see Miriam back again last night but her appearance was far too brief.
In the words of her character Mother Mildred, if the producers were to expand her part in future, “I would deem that wise”.
Luckily for Miriam, with scripts and performances this strong and ratings this high, Call The Midwife should be around for a good few years yet.
Who knows, with 1966 looming on the horizon, 1967 could well be the midwives’ busiest year ever.
‘‘ An uncanny knack of mixing drama with gentle comedy