Call the Midwife
Star Cliff Parisi on celebrating England’s historic 1966 win at Nonnatus House
SUNDAY / BBC1
It’s been 55 years since, and a long time coming to this evergreen drama, so it’s only right we celebrate England’s 1966 World Cup win with the first family of Poplar, our cover stars Fred and Vi Buckle and their ward Reggie.
SUNDAY / BBC1 / 8PM / EP 4 of 7 / DRAMA
There’s a glorious carnival atmosphere in BBC1’S Call
the Midwife this week, as Poplar’s finest get together to celebrate the 1966 World Cup final, which saw England triumph over West Germany.
Handyman-turned-newsagent Fred Buckle (Cliff Parisi), along with his wife Vi (Annabelle Apsion) and their ward Reggie (Daniel Laurie), are at the heart of the festivities. But while everyone’s getting into the spirit with a sweepstake, Fred’s taking a big gamble of his own!
Here, in an exclusive interview, Cliff, 60, chats to TV Times about the beautiful game, his own memories of the 1966 match and why he loves being part of the Buckle
team…
What’s Fred up to during the World Cup?
He and Reggie have had the shop done up and they’ve got football rosettes and flags and are excited. But Fred does something controversial when he puts on a bet. When England win, it’s a bittersweet victory...
Everyone watches the final together and Fred’s even sporting a Union Jack waistcoat! Were those scenes fun to film?
Yes, we weren’t watching the match for real – someone would just shout, ‘Goal!’ – but it was great fun! It’s a jolly crew and cast. Any time there’s a celebration, it’s great having silly hats, party wheezers and balloons. But we couldn’t eat the food because of COVID. It’s all just there for show!
Do you remember watching the 1966 World Cup?
I was only six, but I remember the songs and excitement at school. I’m a West Ham fan and we call it the ‘West Ham World Cup’ because there were so many West Ham players in that squad. We claimed it as ours! I was lucky enough to work with Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Sir Geoff Hurst [from the 1966 England team] on ITV’S comedy drama Gone to the
Dogs [1991], which was fantastic. Everybody was starstruck.
Are you enjoying seeing Fred run the newsagent shop?
Yes, he still does bicycle fixing, too, but he’s settling in at the shop. He gives loads of stuff away, though. They’ll go bust! But I have nice scenes with Zephryn Taitte, who plays Cyril. It’s great for Fred to have a mate.
Reggie and Vi have brought about a change in Fred, too, haven’t they?
He was like a lonely old tramp before, with holes in his jumper. Now it’s like he’s married to Margaret Thatcher! Daniel, Annabelle and I have such a laugh. We’re like a little family and always excited on set. It’s like, ‘Here we go, the Buckles are up to something!’