Call the Midwife star Stephen McGann has revealed the heartbreaking connection between Nurse Barbara's tragic death and his wife Heidi Thomas, who is the show's writer and creator.
MORE: Call the Midwife episode eight first look photos appear to confirm beloved characters’ fates
The actor recently revealed that his wife contracted sepsis in the late 1990s, an experience that indirectly influenced Barbara's storyline and was also one of the "most significant" moments of his life.
WATCH: Dr Turner and Sister Julienne in grave danger in the latest episode
Writing in The Times, Stephen detailed the frightening experience. "When Heidi caught sepsis [in 1998], it clarified everything," he said. "There was a point where she got wheeled away for more checks and I went to the loo and sobbed like a baby."
MORE: Call the Midwife viewers are saying the same thing following devastating episode
MORE: Helen George shares stunning new post after responding to Call the Midwife criticism
"At that moment I realised how quickly life can change. When she got better, nothing was the same again. It was probably one of the most significant points of my life. I don’t know how I got so lucky."
Heidi's traumatic experience indirectly influenced Barbara's storyline
Explaining how Heidi's illness influenced her writing for the BBC show, Stephen said: "Heidi didn’t directly relate the story to us when she wrote sepsis into Call the Midwife [in series seven, broadcast in 2018]. What’s wonderful about a writer like her is that life experiences percolate through the system."
The actor went on to describe how the couple's private conversations can sometimes work their way into the script in some form. "We might have a disagreement and it will turn up in a script," he said. "But it’s not always our personal experiences."
"Lucille’s black eye in this year’s Christmas special was a news story Heidi had banked from years ago. She just cares about other people, particularly that generation of silenced women."
Heidi and Stephen have been married for 31 years
The talented couple tied the knot in 1990, but Stephen fell in love with the writer years earlier. They first met in the mid-1980s when Stephen auditioned for a play that Heidi had written. "By the time I left the room I was madly in love," he said.
"Years later we were talking about love at first sight, saying what an idiotic theory it is. Then we realised that had happened to us," he added.
Like this story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.