Call the Midwife star Jenny Agutter has revealed the real-life connection to her character Sister Julienne.
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In a recent interview, the actress explained that Sister Julienne is based on a real nun called Sister Jocelyn and that she, by chance, was able to meet one of her relatives.
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Talking to Assignment X, Jenny spoke about her connection to the character she portrays. "Sister Jocelyn, as she was called, was the person Julienne was based on," she said. "I had photographs of her, and it happened, just by coincidence, that I met a young woman who knew the niece of Sister Jocelyn. She said would I like to meet, and I did."
"She was wonderful, and she wrote out notes for me about her aunt and the way she was. It was great. Although one can’t replicate the character, it was lovely to know that she wanted to honour that, and I took many of these aspects of the way that she seemed to be, because in truth, being a nun is completely outside anything I could imagine for myself," she said, laughing.
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"So, one hangs onto anything that is real, that one knows," Jenny added.
© Photo: BBCJenny Agutter teases new challenges for Nonnatus House in series 11
The latest series of the much-loved BBC drama returned to our screens last week and viewers can expect to see Nonnatus House face a whole new set of challenges, according to Jenny.
Speaking at a recent press event, she teased the new series. "There are a lot of different medical issues that arise," she said. "There’s abuse again, which we’ve had in the past, but it comes back in a different kind of way."
"Sex education comes into this, and people would object to it. And trying to deal with that, and whether it’s a part of what they should be doing or not. There’s lots of new things that come in this particular year," she added.
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