Call The Midwife fans left very excited after spotting an EastEnders star on the show

He revealed the emotional reason for his return to TV

Call The Midwife
Author: Anna Sky MagliolaPublished 10th Jan 2023
Last updated 10th Jan 2023

Fans of the hit TV show Call The Midwife were left super excited after they spotted James Alexandrou, known for playing the role of Martin Fowler on EastEnders from 1996 to 2007, on the programme.

James took on the role of Ronnie Reynolds in the second episode of the 12th series of Call The Midwife, which follows a group of midwives working in the East End of London in the 50s and 60s. And fans LOVED seeing him back on screen.

One fan tweeted: 'It’s was lovely seeing you in Call The Midwife @JamesAlexandrou', (sic) with another writing: '@JamesAlexandrou you were brilliant to watch mate 👏👏'. A third wrote: 'You made my cry. but I cant fix her brilliant acting, storyline and cast'.

Call The Midwife

In response to the praise, the actor who has also appeared in Casualty and Silent Witness, as well as presenting Bizarre Crime in 2012, opened up about the emotional reason for his return to TV.

Telling his fans it was because his mum died of cancer, he wrote: 'Seeing some lovely messages come through about @CallTheMidwife1 with onscreen wife @LydiaLaaaaarson. Lost mum to cancer + this was a fav show of hers so was a tough gig, but one I wanted to do for her. Thanks for having me - and while we’re here - pay nurses whatever they want.' (sic)

Since sharing the reason for him appearing on the show, fans have been leaving messages of support with one writing: 'It was a wonderful episode, sorry for your loss,' another wrote: 'I thought of your mum at the time', and a third commented: 'She’d have been incredibly incredibly proud of you. It was a beautiful episode ❤️'.

This followed a tweet of the show's trailer which he shared, saying: 'Blimey guv’nor. With the incredible @LydiaLaaaaarson this one was for my mum. Thanks for having me @CallTheMidwife1 x.'

To which Lydia replied: 'Couldn’t have asked for a more generous and talented on screen hubbie. Thank u @JamesAlexandrou x'. (sic)

James left EastEnders back in 2007, however his character returned, played by James Bye in 2014. James (Alexandrou) explained his reason for not returning back in 2016. In at interview with The Nottingham Post (via DigitalSpy), he said: "They were talking for a while about me going back. They made it very clear that they were bringing the character back and they would really like me to go back but it just wasn't right for me at the time."

He continued: "It's the place where I spent 10 years of my formative years.

"The attraction in it would be to see some of my old mates and have a bit of nostalgia, and that wasn't enough at the time to do it."

Despite being an actor in several popular TV shows, since leaving EastEnders he has mostly appeared in plays and behind the camera. His Twitter bio describes him as: 'filmmaker | actor | writer | NFTS directing fiction MA'.

Call The Midwife continues on BBC One on Sundays at 8pm, and is available on iPlayer.

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