DYER STRAITS

ANN MITCHELL TELLS US ABOUT REPRISING HER ROLE AS VAL’S GRAN ELSIE…

One of the most devastating plot twists of the last series of Call The Midwife was the revelation that the backstreet abortionist whose work had severely harmed or killed several of the midwives’ patients was Val’s own gran, Elsie Dyer. Elsie was sentenced to six years in prison after Val reported her to the police, but as we saw last week, Val has been visiting her nan in jail and their relationship is now back on track. However, we also saw that Elsie is in a great deal of pain, and Val’s very worried about her…

“She’s unwell – and denying, of course, that she’s unwell,” reveals Ann Mitchell, who plays her. “She’s made changes and has grown a lot, but there’s a basic strength and stoicism in Elsie.”

While Ann is keeping quiet about what exactly is wrong with Elsie, and whether she’ll finally accept her grandaughter’s help, she tells us that she was delighted to return to the part – especially as she wasn’t sure if it was on the cards…

“I was ecstatic!” she beams. “I was so very happy – I didn’t think it would happen, but it did. Elsie was, of course, punished, so it was always going to be interesting to see whether or not they could bring her back from that point.”

Elsie’s secret sideline may have come as a shock to viewers, but Ann tells us that she was pleased with the reaction.

“It was absolutely fascinating,” shares the actress. “I would say it was two-thirds understanding Elsie and what that era was like, and a third that she’d done a terrible thing and should be severely punished. But, on the whole, it was an extremely sympathetic reaction to the issue, and to the character.”

This particular storyline has been very important to Ann – having grown up in London’s East End, she remembers that “backstreet abortions were the norm and women kept very quiet”, and she’s pleased that a big show such as Call

The Midwife isn’t afraid to portray that.

“I think it’s one of the most radical shows on television,” she affirms. “It tackles issues with compassion and fair judgement – I just think it’s a miracle of a programme, and it will have helped to change people’s attitudes to all sorts of things.”