Call The Midwife
Christmas Day (TBC) BBC One
With its unique mixture of feel-good moments and grit, Call the Midwife shows every sign of being recommissioned for years to come. That said, it’s clearly been a difficult 2020 for the producers, including writer and creator Heidi Thomas, with filming of Series 10 interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, it seems unlikely that the first episodes will air in January as is usually the case.
More happily, we can expect that staple of Auntie’s holiday schedule, the Call the Midwife Christmas special, albeit one that involves less travel outside the East End than in recent years. Instead, we return to Nonnatus House in December 1965. Everyone is anticipating a traditional Christmas, but things don’t go to plan.
The first disruption is caused by Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) being rushed to hospital. Further complications arise, at least for Trixie (Helen George), when she’s gifted a subscription to a marriage bureau rather than the dress allowance she was anticipating. Plus Shelagh (Laura Main) enjoys a surprise reunion, one that sees her getting close to a mother-to-be who’s nervous because of a previous tragedy.
That’s not to say that this is an episode entirely without novelty. Christmas brings the circus to Poplar, and an appearance from former Doctor Who star Peter Davison as a twinkly ringmaster. Get ready for an explosion engulfing a caravan, an adventure for Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett), and a plot that emphasises the dangers of smoking.
Looking ahead, filming of Series 10 resumed in August, and will follow the regulars through 1966 – the eventful year that Harold Wilson led Labour to election victory, disaster struck the Welsh mining village of Aberfan, and England won the World Cup at Wembley. This time around, there will be seven episodes instead of the usual eight because of the pandemic.
Seamen’s Ticket
Findmypast ( findmy past.co.uk) holds The National Archives’ collection of seamen’s tickets, created for all merchant mariners who went to sea between 1845 and 1854. David’s ticket shows that he was 16 years old when he was ticketed, had light brown hair and hazel eyes, was able to write, and first went to sea as a boy in 1841: bit.ly/fmpsea-jenkins.