Series 6

Series 6 is the sixth series of Call the Midwife and was originally broadcast in 2017 on BBC One.

Plot[]

Series 6 sees the sisters of Nonnatus House continue their mission to serve the mothers and babies of Poplar, however new challenges come their way. Some of those challenges are in their very home, Nonnatus House when new nun Sister Ursula is chosen to become the new Sister in charge of Nonnatus House and she imposes new rules that do not work with the way the nurses are known from doing things like their involvement in their patients' lives and seeing them as to be used for efficient healthcare, however this proves to backfire when a twenty minute rule means Nurse Barbara Gilbert cannot examine a baby and the baby nearly dies of carbon monoxide poisoning, after that she decides to return to the mother House and Sister Julienne is restored to her position. Other challenges include cases that involve domestic violence, adoption, poor condition at the east end docks, female genital mutilation and the widespread usage of the contraceptive pill.

The midwives also face challenges to their personal lives, Sister Mary Cynthia’s trauma over her assault the previous year runs deeper than everyone thought at first and is taken to brutal asylum Linchmere hospital to receive treatment but her fellow sisters rescue her and Dr Turner arranges her to be treated at a much gentler hospital, leaving the show. Nurse Patsy Mount must temporality depart Poplar to spend her days with her dying father and Delia Busby who is training to become a midwife at St Cuthbert’s hospital wonders if she will return, however the pair reunite in the finale and share their first onscreen kiss. For the first time the relevance of the Nonnatus Nurses is called into question, women were moving into big general hospitals and home births were on the way out, the pill also meant that parents could choose their family sizes meaning work would decrease, however the midwives prove themselves time and time again to be vital members of the community in need of their service.

But not all change happening was bad, a new nurse called Valerie Dyer impresses Sister Julienne and is asked to apply for a new position and joins the team. Shelagh Turner who was at first told she could not have children of her own finds herself to be pregnant and delivers a baby boy with Sister Julienne as her midwife. The family of Fred and Violet Buckle expands as well after Fred’s cousin dies he and Violet take in her adult son with Down’s syndrome called Reggie. When on a mission to South Africa Tom Hereward proposes to Barbara Hereward with a blade of grass and she happily accepts, his ex fiancee Trixie remains in South Africa for a few extra months but she returns and meets dentist Christopher Dockerill and the two begin a relationship. The series ends with the wedding of Tom and Barbara with Tom arranging for a carousel to be used for the night and the series ends like something from once upon a dream.

Episodes[]

See also: List of Episodes

Series 6 (2017)[]

Christmas special
No. overall	Episode	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions) ^[12]
43	Christmas Special	Syd Macartney	Heidi Thomas	25 December 2016	10.34
Most of the Nonnatus House staff travel to a tiny mission hospital in South Africa, which is threatened with closure. They find the health of the patients severely threatened by a dwindling and dirty water supply, and must try to convince a local land-owner with a grudge against the establishment to allow a new pipeline to run across his farm. When the hospital's only doctor is herself hospitallised with a life-threatening illness, it falls to Trixie to deliver a baby by Caesarean section. Tom proposes to Barbara and the couple get engaged.

Series 6
No. overall	Episode	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions) ^[12]
44	Episode 1	Sheree Folkson	Heidi Thomas	22 January 2017	10.40
Returning from South Africa (with the exception of Trixie, who is to remain at the clinic for two months), the staff are surprised to find that the stern Sister Ursula (Harriet Walter) has been placed in charge of Nonnatus House, with Sister Julienne relegated to lesser duties. Phyllis helps a mother who is desperate to escape her violent husband. Concerns are raised for the mental health of Sister Mary Cynthia, and she is sent away to the mother house. Shelagh learns she is expecting a baby, while Patsy receives a letter from Hong Kong informing her that her father is terminally ill.
45	Episode 2	Sheree Folkson	Harriet Warner	29 January 2017	10.57
Sister Ursula's strict rule at Nonnatus House continues, and she comes into conflict with both Patsy and Sister Winifred when she dictates that the staff should not become emotionally involved with patients. Shelagh is caught up in the aftermath of an explosion at a warehouse, along with former army nurse Valerie Dyer (Jennifer Kirby), and subsequently campaigns for better facilities for the workmen, with the help of a young father who was injured in the blast and fears he has been blinded before he even got to see his child. Phyllis begins to realise the extent of Patsy's relationship with Delia. Patsy helps an expectant mother who faces the prospect of a difficult birth due to her achondroplasia, and the case makes her realise that she needs to tend to her dying father, prompting her to leave for Hong Kong.
46	Episode 3\|James Larkin	Carolyn Bonnyman	5 February 2017	11.03
Proposed government reforms to the way maternity care is provided mean that Dr Turner and Shelagh must prepare for an inspection of the maternity home and face the prospect of its closure. During the inspection, Shelagh is rushed to the hospital due to complications with her own pregnancy. Sister Ursula's latest edict at Nonnatus House is that the midwives must spend no longer than 20 minutes at each appointment. Under pressure due to the time limit, Barbara fails to notice that a baby is suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty water heater, and the baby is rushed to hospital with her life in the balance. Chastened by the incident and the effect of her attempted reforms, Sister Ursula returns to the mother house, restoring Sister Julienne to the helm at Nonnatus House. Trixie returns from South Africa, but, having stayed at the mother house during her journey home, expresses concerns that Sister Mary Cynthia was not there.
47	Episode 4	James Larkin	Heidi Thomas	12 February 2017	10.86
An expectant mother struggling with debt since her husband left her decides that the solution to her problems is to give her baby to her childless cousin. However, when the child arrives she finds she cannot part with it. The incident has a particular impact on Tom, who reveals that he himself was adopted. Shelagh and Dr. Turner face an anxious wait for news on their baby's condition, but when they hear the baby's heartbeat they are relieved to learn that it is still alive. Sister Julienne secures funding to recruit a new midwife, but the search proves fruitless until she remembers former army nurse Valerie Dyer, who happily accepts the job.
48	Episode 5	Lisa Clark	Andrea Gibb	19 February 2017	11.29
Fred's cousin Ivy dies, leaving behind her son Reggie, a 21-year-old with Down's syndrome. Fred and Violet take him in, but realising that his living with them indefinitely would be impractical, must decide whether the best option would be to commit him to a mental institution. While visiting the austere Linchmere Hospital, Fred and Sister Monica Joan are shocked to find Sister Mary Cynthia a patient there. They then find a much friendlier facility that offers gardening therapy, and place Reggie there instead. Inspired by an expectant mother with very poor dental hygiene, Dr. Turner spearheads a programme to improve the teeth of the borough's residents, during which Trixie is introduced to handsome dentist Christopher Dockerill (Jack Hawkins).
49	Episode 6	Lisa Clark	Louise Ironside	26 February 2017	10.82
Sister Mary Cynthia is released from the mental institution and returns to Nonnatus House. Her mental health issues persist, however, and she is eventually sent to the gentler Northfield Hospital near Birmingham. Valerie deals with the case of a woman from Somaliland, who was subjected to female genital mutilation as a child, leading to a complicated birth and a clash of cultures over the practice. Tensions run high during the Cuban missile crisis.
50	Episode 7	Syd Macartney	Heidi Thomas	5 March 2017	10.40
Rhoda and Bernie Mullucks, whose daughter Susan was born with severely deformed limbs due to the effects of thalidomide, investigate the possibility of her being fitted with artificial limbs, but the experience causes tensions in their own relationship. Driving back from a successful delivery, Phyllis knocks over one of the family's other children with her car and is left devastated by the possible consequences. Trixie suspects that Christopher is seeing another woman, but learns that he actually has a child from a prior marriage, which he had not previously disclosed. In return for his revelation, she reveals to him her own struggles with alcoholism. Delia learns that Patsy's father has died in Hong Kong.
51	Episode 8	Syd Macartney	Heidi Thomas	12 March 2017	10.64
Barbara is distraught that her vicar father has accepted a missionary post overseas and will not be able to officiate at her wedding, so she brings the date forward and her friends rally round to help her organise the event in just three weeks. Shelagh gives birth to a baby boy. A mother who has been taking the contraceptive pill without her husband's knowledge develops a pulmonary embolism and dies, sparking concerns about the safety of the medication. Trixie agrees to meet Christopher's daughter. Patsy returns from Hong Kong and pledges her love for Delia.

Cast[]

Midwives[]

Helen George as Beatrix Franklin
Charlotte Ritchie as Barbara Gilbert
Emerald Fennell as Patience Mount
Linda Bassett as Phyllis Crane
Jennifer Kirby as Valerie Dyer

Nuns[]

Jenny Agutter as Sister Julienne
Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan
Victoria Yeates as Sister Winifred
Bryony Hannah as Sister Mary Cynthia
Harriet Walter as Sister Ursula

Other[]

Stephen McGann as Patrick Turner
Laura Main as Shelagh Turner
Max Macmillan as Timothy Turner
Alice Brown as Angela Turner
Cliff Parisi as Frederick Buckle
Annabelle Apsion as Violet Buckle
Daniel Laurie as Reggie Jackson
Kate Lamb as Delia Busby
Ben Caplan as Peter Noakes

Reception[]

Coming soon...

References[]