Call the Midwife creator and producer Heidi Thomas has made a candid comment about the hugely popular drama series – and we think it'll surprise you!
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Speaking during a recent panel for PBS at the Television Critics Association, the writer admitted that, despite the huge success they have enjoyed since Call the Midwife first aired in 2012, they had no expectations of taking the show beyond the first series.
"Certainly, from my point of view I was focused on doing one series and there was never an expectation of doing a second," she began, adding: "I think every year it takes us by surprise."
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Heidi's husband, Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Patrick Turner in the medical drama, echoed this sentiment: "When we started, this modesty about our expectations, none of us expected [renewals] to happen so when it did it was a rather nice thing. The modesty of that comes through to the gentleness and the compassion of the program."
But it seems Heidi's expectations have been more than exceeded, as the show has already been commissioned up until 2024 with 13 seasons.
She previously told Radio Times: "We are thrilled to be going on for a few more years! Like Nonnatus House itself, we have a proud past but an even more exciting future - full of old favourites, fresh faces, higher hemlines, new ideas."
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The drama has been a huge hit since 2012
Meanwhile, fans of Call the Midwife in the UK can look forward to the Christmas special at the end of the year shortly before series 11 lands on the BBC. Across the pond, US viewers will be able to watch series ten on PBS from October.
However, many who are wanting to binge the tear-jerking episodes before the new season on Netflix will have to do so quickly, as it was recently confirmed that the streaming giant would be removing the existing seasons from its platform on Sunday 12 September.
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