Call the Midwife viewers will be left reeling on Sunday when the final episode ends with nurse Trixie revealing that she’s quitting London for America.
But despite the midwife’s declaration that she’s jetting out to New York to patch up her rocky marriage to posh Sir Matthew Aylward – actress Helen George is not leaving the BBC drama. The cliffhanger will leave fans fearing that Helen – one of six stars who remain in the hit show from the original 2012 cast – has quit Nonnatus House for good. But insiders say the actress will return to film series 14, which starts production in the spring.
But it’s a different story for Olly Rix, who plays Sir Matthew, who is leaving the show after a four-year stint. The actor is not expected to make any appearance next year but the “door has been left open” for him, meaning that he could yet return in a later series. One show insider said: “This series ends with the firm impression that Trixie is off to America to start a new life with her husband and young step-son. But the good news is her trip will be fleeting, and Helen will be back to carry on next year.”
One scenario is that the couple don’t split up but Matthew remains in the US to work while Trixie returns to the job she loves. Olly’s departure comes amid rumours that he and Helen were secretly dating after both split with their long-term partners last year and were spotted spending time together.
This weekend’s series finale ends with a dramatic phone call between Trixie and Matthew, who has already moved to New York in a desperate bid to relaunch his career, after the property firm he inherited from his father collapsed. Alcoholic Trixie, who is in recovery but has been unable to sleep over the stress of losing her husband and their comfortable lifestyle, eventually rings him to declare: “I’m coming out to join you.”
Prior to this Trixie was so frazzled by her problems that she’d turned to sleeping pills to get some rest and caffeine tablets to wake her up – with disastrous consequences .Speaking of their final scenes together, Olly has said it was “genuinely very moving on the page, and it was something we found quite emotionally exhausting to do.”
Showrunner Heidi Thomas has already wrestled with bringing solo Trixie swiftly back from the US in the scripts for 2024, in order to pick up the pieces of her life in Poplar. Also in Sunday’s finale fans will be delighted to learn about Miss Higgins’
former life. The plot provides a heartbreaking backstory for the receptionist, played by Georgie Glen, which details her time as a young woman living in India.
The other five original cast members – all due to return as the show enters the 1970s next year – are Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan, Jenny Agutter as Sister Julienne, Stephen McGann and Laura Main as Dr and Shelagh Turner and Cliff Parisi as Fred Buckle.
