Call the Midwife: Everything you need to know as series 16 confirmed
There's a film and spin-off underway too!
Last updated 26th Jun 2025
Beloved BBC series, Call The Midwife, stepped into the 1970s for the first time this year — and now we've been promised more nostalgia from the nuns of Poplar for years to come. It's after the creators revealed plans are in the works for a movie AND a spin-off, which will take viewers back in time to World War Two.
Meanwhile bosses have now confirmed a 16th series, as filming for series 15 gets underway. It follows Call The Midwife's 14th season, which aired from January to March 2025. Here's everything there is to know about the show which has stolen the hearts of the nation...
When does Call The Midwife start?
Series 14 of Call The Midwife arrived on telly on 5th January 2025 - and aired for eight weeks. This followed the two-part Christmas special, which aired on Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2024.
Filming for series 15 is underway, and is expected to air in the first week of January 2026.
Is there going to be a Call The Midwife movie?
Yes! In an unexpected announcement in May 2025, we discovered there were plans afoot for a Call The Midwife film, which would be set overseas in 1972. Although we've not been told where overseas just yet, we do know filming will get underway in 2026 — and it will feature the characters we've come to know and love in the BBC drama.
Series writer and executive producer, Heidi Thomas, said: “As the classic Call The Midwife series moves further into the 1970s, it also seems the perfect time for our much-loved regulars to take a short break from Poplar and test themselves in an unfamiliar landscape. The rise in hospital births, and changes in the NHS, have clipped their wings, and this is their chance to take flight and work out what really matters. Whilst the location of the film remains top-secret, I can say it is going to look absolutely fantastic on the big screen!”
Will there be a Call The Midwife spin-off?
There will! Fans were thrilled to hear we'd get to go back in time to see some of the iconic Call The Midwife characters during wartime Britain, in an exciting spin-off. With filming also getting underway in 2026, the spin-off promises to feature familiar (but younger) faces during The Blitz.
Heidi Thomas explains: “The Blitz years in the East End were extraordinary - the bombs fell, the babies kept on coming, and the Sisters kept on going. There will be so much in the prequel for our wonderful, loyal fans, including the appearance of some familiar (if much younger!) faces.”
Christmas Special 2025
It might seem a little early to be talking about the Christmas special, but excitingly, filming is already underway! In a post on Instagram in May 2025, the writers gave fans a little snapshot of what to expect in this year's double-episode Christmas special:
'Our forthcoming Christmas Special, set in 1970, will again be in two parts - but this time in two very different locations! The streets of Poplar… and the bustling metropolis of Hong Kong!
‘When senior members of the Nonnatus House staff head to Hong Kong on a mercy mission, the younger midwives are left to cope alone. As the Christmas action shifts between the sun-drenched Far East and a snowy East End, Sister Julienne finds herself excited about the Order’s future…’
What channel is Call The Midwife usually on?
The most recent series 14, and all previous series, aired on BBC One — with episodes also available on BBC iPlayer.
How many episodes are in the latest series?
There were eight new episodes in series 14 — which are now available to watch on catch up.
What was series 14 about?
Call the Midwife bosses posted on their official social media pages in September this 2024, telling fans:
'As our team race through filming for Series 14, they have had reasons to leave the film studio, and head for locations in the sprawling London metropolis.
'This isn't something new for us - although it's often been tricky for us to achieve. As you might imagine, not much of the old Poplar remains - being transformed by post-war town planning and urban slum clearance. Locations have had to be carefully chosen, and allowances made for the busy traffic and noise of the capital! For that reason, we usually film our exterior shots in the familiar, age-appropriate, and more congenial surroundings of the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.
'As the years roll by, however, our needs have begun to change. Series 14 is now in 1970 - a time when much of the old brick terraces of Poplar had already disappeared - to be replaced by imposing concrete high-rise flats and rapid road building. It was now the height of urban post-war modernism - yet our nurses and midwives were still tasked with their traditional role of care in the community. Their task of navigating warrens of grimy victorian slums had been replaced by the need to visit mothers on high floors - whether the lifts were working or not!
'This photo taken from a location in London perfectly illustrates the changing look of Call the Midwife through the years. Rebecca Gethings (Sister Veronica) is filming a scene on her rounds in the district - but the landscape now is very different from the Blitz-damaged landscape that we first saw in Series 1.
'Yet we think the most important aspect of the picture is not the background, but Rebecca herself. She is wearing the same Nonnatus habit our sisters have always worn. She is performing the same duty of care to her mothers that we saw in Series 1. While the landscape changes - and even the mode of transport changes! - the work of the Nonnatus House sisters does not. A mother will always need her midwife - no matter how high she may now live, or how many stairs there may be to reach her. xx
'Call the midwife returns with a new Christmas Special, and Series 14 in 2025 xx'
What happened in the latest Call the Midwife Christmas special?
On Christmas Day 2024, fans were able to watch the first part of the Christmas special on BBC One, while Part 2 aired on Boxing Day.
Ahead of the day, Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, said: “Call the Midwife has become one of UK television’s most popular festive traditions, and this year we wanted to go even better with Call the Midwife’s biggest Christmas ever! Heidi and the team have lined up an absolute treat, with two irresistible episodes packed full of everything fans will love about this very special series at Christmas time.”
In an exciting post uploaded to Instagram in October, fans got a sneak preview of upcoming scenes, which see Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett) appearing to be offering a pinky promise to her fellow midwives. The picture is captioned: 'Does she have a promise to make with her co-stars Laura Main (Shelagh) and Judy Parfitt (Sr Monica Joan)? And will it involve cake? ;-).
'There's very much a feeling of approaching the finishing line on set - and then comes the best part - showing YOU what we've been up to! The year is now 1970 - the world has changed in many ways, but the babies keep coming, and the need for the Nonnatuns is still all too obvious. x
'1970 in Poplar will be bringing you all the joy, tears, warmth, humour and heartache you'd expect from our community. Pinky promise!
'Call the Midwife returns with a brand new Christmas Special, and Series 14 in 2025 xx'.
Will there be any more series?
Yes! BBC bosses delighted fans by confirming the series 16 will happen 'in due course', meaning Call the Midwife will be on our screens until 2027. And in an exciting update, given by Sister Julienne actress Jenny Agutter on 12th February, we discovered filming for series 15 got underway in April!
Creator Heidi Thomas said of the exciting news: "We are a family behind the scenes, on the screen, and in front of the telly, and I'm thrilled that we're all heading into the 1970s together."
Dame Pippa Harris, Executive Producer added: “15 series is a tremendous achievement and it’s a testament to the passion and dedication of our cast and crew, of whom I’m very proud. But the show wouldn’t be the phenomenal success it is without the formidable presence of our creator and writer Heidi Thomas. Her continued devotion to the characters and determination to tell the untold stories of women is truly inspiring. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us and our extremely loyal audience in the future!”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama also said of the news: “Call The Midwife's enduring popularity is thanks to the extraordinary creative talents and hard work of creator Heidi Thomas, executive producers Pippa Harris and Ann Tricklebank, and the series' dedicated cast and crew. I know they have many more stories to tell - and that the residents of Nonnatus House have many more babies to deliver - so I'm delighted that Call the Midwife will continue on BBC One and iPlayer for more years to come."
Has Call The Midwife been axed?
No. Rumours were rife in June 2025 that Call The Midwife would come to an end after its 15th series. But BBC bosses were quick to shut down reports, saying in a statement: "The BBC would like to reassure fans that Call The Midwife will remain at the heart of the BBC for years to come.
"As previously announced, there are two Christmas specials, a new series, a film and prequel series, before a sixteenth series in due course.
"Call the Midwife isn’t going anywhere.”
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How can I watch old episodes of Call the Midwife?
All past episodes of Call the Midwife are available on the BBC iPlayer now.
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