Mother Mildred O.S.R.N (originally Sister Mildred) is the new Mother Superior at the Mother House introduced in the 2018 Christmas Special. She is played by Miriam Margolyes
Overview[]
Sister Mildred first appears at Nonnatus House with four Chinese orphans in the 2018 Christmas Special before returning to the Mother House with Sister Julienne and Sister Winifred. Mother Jesu Emmanuel, the Mother Superior of the order, has been diagnosed with a brain tumour and has been given months to live, and Sister Julienne appears to be the most likely candidate to succeed her as Mother Superior, but Sister Mildred is elected instead, and she requests Sister Winifred remain at the Mother House to work with the children at the orphanage.
In S08E01, Sister Mildred, now known as Mother Mildred, assigns both Sister Hilda and Sister Frances to Nonnatus House. Mother Mildred returns to Nonnatus House in S08E06 to fill in for Nurse Crane after she hurts her back, and during her stay, she sees two generations of a dock-working family affected by serious medical conditions linked to their employment, and she becomes involved in the fight for improved working conditions for the dockers. In S08E07, she assigns Sister Frances to attend her first solo delivery despite the inexperienced young nuns lack of confidence, yet she proves herself during a difficult birth. At the end of the episode, Mother Mildred returns to the Mother House.
In the 2019 Christmas Special the winter flu strikes almost all the Nonnatus midwives, to take up their duties Mother Mildred and and some Sisters from the Mother House come to Poplar. After they get over their illnesses she informs Sister Julienne of her hopes to open a new order branch house in the Outer Hebrides. She, the Turners, Fred, the staff nurses and Sister Julienne go there for a trial run, unfortunately the the church they hope to use as the convent deny them permanent use and the difference between religion makes her question if she was right. By the end she decides that the order would not expand. When they get back to Poplar Mother Mildred remains at Nonnatus House during January and February, in this time a baby named Primrose is found in a dust bin, a woman named Brenda is found to be the baby's mother. Mother Mildred goes to visit the order of priests she works for and meets Father Duncombe who she takes a dislike to, the "Father" tries to pressure Brenda into giving the baby up. Suspecting the worst she encourages Brenda not to name the father on the birth certificate. At the end Brenda and baby Primrose go to live at the Mother House with her.
While Mother Mildred doesn't appear in Series 10 she remains a presence in the lives of the midwives. As the council as good as withdrew their support from the order at the end of Series 9 Sister Julienne hopes to get money by allying with a private clinic. In the manner of "robin hood with wimples" according to her, Mother Mildred is adamant that no nun would set foot on the premises until it has been tested so they send Beatrix Franklin on a trail run Sister Hilda doesn't want to go into a fancy clinic wearing medieval hand me downs so she gets permission to design three revised habits for the nuns. Mother Mildred rejects all three citing that if god intended them to wear crimplene or pinafore dresses it would have been in the bible (ignoring the fact neither were invented when the bible was written). When Nurse Trixie Franklin writes a letter to the times about her views on the abortion reform bill Mother Mildred is infuriated as she is the head of the Christian order Trixie works for, but when Trixie is asked to speak on the radio she grants permission. According to Sister Hilda who was away on a refresher course it made for an interesting recreational hour at the mother house.
Mother Mildred makes a visit to Nonnatus House in the 2021 Christmas special. She arrives just in time to help a baby born with an opium addiction from its mother, she informs the Turners that their foster daughter May was just the same screaming for nearly two weeks. But assures them that the baby will get get over the addiction and knows the dosage to wean the baby off the heroin. At Nonnatus house on Christmas day, when the Turner children miss their parents who had to work that day she reads and Nancy Corrigans daughter Colette a Christmas Carol by Dickens, soon enough all the adults adults gather round and listen to her story.
Between the Series 11 finale and the 2022 Christmas special Mother Mildred called Sister Hilda back to the mother house deciding that Nonnatus House could manage perfectly fine without her. Her absence makes extra work for Sister Frances who falls of her bike and breaks her shoulder so she is sent back to the mother house as well. Sister Julienne wants assistance in their absence so Mother Mildred decides to send a health visitor to Nonnatus House, a colleague from her time nursing in Hong Kong, Sister Veronica says her father was a regimental sergeant major so she was well prepared to nurse with Mother Mildred. Sister Veronica has a tendency to lie, telling Sister Julienne that had to have part of a lung removed so the order would purchase her a car. But Mother Mildred wrote to Sister Julienne informing her that her “tactical falsehoods” remain a flaw. In the end Sister Veronica gets a scooter. Nonnatus House faces threat of closure but Sister Julienne refuses to be beaten, she telephones Mother Mildred and offscreen tells her that the building was bought by Sir Matthew Aylward and the pupil midwife training scheme would be reinstated to cover extra costs. The following year when he loses all his money he transfers ownership of Nonnatus House to her order and Mother Mildred insisted Sister Julienne proceed with the deeds in case the council enacted compulsory purchase.
Trivia[]
- During an interview on This Morning in 2016, Miriam Margolyes revealed that she was a massive fan of Call the Midwife and would love to appear on it. In May of 2018, it was announced that Miriam had been cast in that years Christmas Special.
Quotes[]
I'm Sister Mildred and I'm indefatigable, except when arriving from the East escorting orphans. - Her first words on arriving at Nonnatus House.
Self-doubt is a very good seedbed for progress. And humility, the perfect fertilizer. I know that all too well. For those are the qualities I have had to pray for. - To Sister Frances after assigning her and Sister Hilda to work at Nonnatus House, S08E01
Babies come along when they feel inclined. We can only prepare, we can never predict! - To an anxious Sister Frances who is on call for her first solo delivery, S08E07