Call the Midwife star Natalie Quarry has revealed the support she received from her co-star Helen George during her first "birth" scene in the new season of the BBC period drama.
The popular series, which returns to BBC One on Sunday night with season 13, follows a group of nuns, midwives and nurses working at Nonnatus House in the east London district of Poplar.
Natalie plays newcomer Rosalind Clifford, who arrives at Nonnatus House as a part of its new midwifery training scheme. Chatting with HELLO! and other journalists ahead of the new series, the actress spoke about a memorable moment from filming.
"I think my first birth was a lot," she said. "It was my second week, it was really intense. It was scary but I think that's a moment that I'll remember very fondly of being truly a baptism of fire for me, as well as for Rosalind."
© Neal Street Productions/BBCWhen asked if she was prepared for the scene, she responded: "No, I was like, 'Oh my god, I'm going to have to do a birth, that's really scary!'. But everyone was so great on the day."
Praising her co-star Helen, who has played Trixie Franklin since series one, she added: "Obviously, Helen knows so much about doing births that I very much leaned on her a lot of the time."
© Neal Street Productions/Olly CourtneyLanding a role on the show was particularly special for Natalie, who has been a fan of the drama for years. "I used to be a fan of the show when I was a teenager and watched it with my family, so it's such a weird full circle moment to come and be in the show.
"I remember my first day coming in, walking up to Nonnatus House and being like, 'Oh my gosh!'," she revealed, adding: "For me, that was really special."
SEE: The cast of Call the Midwife cast and their real-life children
Natalie isn't the only fresh face on the streets of Poplar in the new series. Renee Bailey has also joined the house as fellow student midwife, Joyce Highland, a "hardworking, fiercely bright" pupil from Trinidad who hides a traumatic past.
© BBCSpeaking about the new characters, writer and creator Heidi Thomas OBE said: "Newcomers Joyce and Rosalind arrive with much to learn, and much to give. And yet even as man prepares to walk on the moon, we see them grappling with life's eternal questions. Who are we? What is love? And where do we belong?"
Elsewhere in the series, which is set in 1969, the Nonnatus House family face more complex medical and personal situations as more babies are being born in hospital than ever before.
Fans can also expect to see Trixie and her new husband Matthew Aylward [Olly Rix] face difficult times as they are hit with "severe financial challenge".
According to writer Heidi, the couple's marriage takes an "unexpected and dramatically rich turn" as they embark on a new chapter in their lives.
"They suffer severe financial challenge which is not something they were expecting and it both deepens their relationship and challenges it," Heidi teased.
Call the Midwife series 13 begins on Sunday 7 January on BBC One at 8pm.
