TV hit delivers more than babies
CALL The Midwife is a hit because it is a celebration of women, not just a drama about child birth, its creator insists.
Heidi Thomas feels the secret factor in the long-running BBC show is that audiences have been drawn in by the emotions of the characters.
She said: “Our consultant midwife,Terri Coates, once said to me, ‘Heidi, there are only so many ways a baby can come out of a woman’s body’.
“You wouldn’t run a series for 10 years just on midwifery. I think that’s one of our secret weapons.”
She added: “We are present at life’s commencement and the end. So we do stories about birth, death and in between.
“Then we come to a story about a man who has tuberculosis, or a docker who was injured in an explosion.”
Speaking in Los Angeles to promote the drama’s showing on Public Broadcasting Service, Heidi was joined by Stephen McGann, pictured, who plays Dr Turner.
He said: “To see capable women in a show which nurtures people, which isn’t driven by conflict and dramatic and emotional conflict between the characters, it’s driven by something else, is an absolute joy.”
As one of the few male leads, he said some of his favourite moments were where “men are talking about being men”.