Call the Midwife - Christmas 2025 - Part One - 8:15 pm Thursday, December 25 on BBC One London HD

Jenny Agutter (Actor) .. Sister Julienne

Born: December 20, 1952 in Taunton, Somerset

Best Known For: The Railway Children.

Early-life: Jennifer Ann Agutter was born on December 20, 1952, in Taunton, Somerset. She has an older brother, Jonathan. Her father was an Army officer and, as a result, the family travelled the world, living in such places as Germany, Singapore and Cyprus. At 11, she returned to the UK to attend the Elmhurst Ballet School in Surrey. While there, she became hooked on acting, and made her movie debut in 1964's East of Sudan.

Career: In 1966, Agutter landed her first starring role in Ballerina. She made several forgettable films before her big break - 1970's The Railway Children (she had appeared in the TV adaptation two years earlier and would star in a 2000 remake). A year later, she made the acclaimed Walkabout, and relocated to America. Subsequent roles include Logan's Run, The Eagle Has Landed, Equus, and An American Werewolf in London. She returned to Britain in the early 1990s, where she dabbles in photography and works for various good causes. She has also featured in The Parole Officer, The Alan Clark Diaries, Spooks, New Tricks, The Invisibles and surprise hit Call the Midwife.

Quote: "Los Angeles is like a desert. The only thing that exists is the work you do. You have that sense of living a precarious existence."

Trivia: In 2014, she was one of 200 public figures who signed a letter opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to the referendum.

Linda Bassett (Actor) .. Nurse Phyllis Crane

Judy Parfitt (Actor) .. Sister Monica Joan

Born: November 07, 1935 in Sheffield

Best Known For: A seasoned star of stage, TV and film.

Early-life: Judy was born in Sheffield on November 7, 1935 to Catherine and Lawrence. She trained at Rada and made her stage debut in 1954 in Fools Rush In. Other stage roles followed until she made her TV debut in 1962 in a BBC play called Dackson's Wharf.

Career: Parfitt earned critical acclaim for her Gertrude in a 1969 stage production of Hamlet and she reprised the part in an equally successful film version in the same year. While continuing to grace the stage in a number of productions, Parfitt has been a familiar face on TV. Her numerous credits include A Tale of Two Cities, The Jewel in the Crown, Crown Court, The Charmer and Murder in Mind. In America, she starred in short-lived sitcom The Charmings in the late 1980s and had a recurring role in ER in the early 2000s. She made her Hollywood debut in Dolores Claiborne (1995). Other film credits include Wilde (1997) and Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003). More recently, Judy has starred in Heartbeat, Midsomer Murders, Little Dorrit, Jonathan Creek, Vera, Marple and Call the Midwife.

Quote: "Getting old is a bugger. But you have to accept it or you'll be as miserable as sin. Going and having plastic surgery is pathetic."

Trivia: Parfitt was nominated for a TV Bafta for The Jewel in the Crown and a film Bafta for Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Helen George (Actor) .. Nurse Trixie Aylward

Best Known For: Playing nurse Trixie Franklin in Call the Midwife.

Early-life: Helen was born in Birmingham in 1982. She has a sister. After training at the Birmingham School of Acting and the Royal Academy of Music, she made her stage debut in the Trevor Nunn-directed The Woman in White.

Career: TV roles followed for George in Hotel Babylon and Doctors, and she made her film debut in The Three Musketeers (2011). Her big break came in 2012 when she was cast as nurse Trixie Franklin in hugely popular BBC drama Call the Midwife. In August 2015, it was announced that she would be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.

Quote: "I want to do a movie where I get to wear leather and shoot people!"

Trivia: George has been a backing singer at concerts for Elton John.

Laura Main (Actor) .. Nurse Shelagh Turner

Born: March 08, 1981 in Aberdeen

Best Known For: Call the Midwife.

Early-life: Laura was born in Aberdeen on March 8, 1981. She made her acting debut at the age of 11 in a touring production of The Sound of Music. Two years later, she starred in Annie. She went on to study art history at the University of Aberdeen before enrolling at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career: In 2004, Main played a journalist in an episode of Monarch of the Glen and in the same year, she had a recurring role in ITV crime drama Murder City. She has worked extensively on the stage, including the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of Alice in Wonderland and Romeo and Juliet at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. In 2011, she landed the role of Sister Bernadette in popular BBC drama Call the Midwife.

Quote: "The wonderful thing about being an actress is that you can't really plan, you have to just see what comes along."

Trivia: Main performs on several tracks on a Call the Midwife album.

Stephen McGann (Actor) .. Dr Patrick Turner

Born: February 02, 1963 in Kensington, Liverpool

Best Known For: Being part of the McGann acting dynasty.

Early-life: Stephen was born in Kensington, Liverpool, on February 2nd, 1963. He is one of a family of acting brothers, the others being Joe, Paul and Mark. Stephen made his professional acting debut in 1982 in West End musical Yakety Yak. His first TV credit was a guest role in an episode of Juliet Bravo.

Career: Further supporting roles followed in Brookside, Help!, Boon and Bergerac before he landed a lead role in children's drama Streetwise. In 1995, he starred with his brothers in BBC four-part drama The Hanging Gale. He received greater exposure in 1999 when he joined the cast of Emmerdale as Sean Reynolds. He stayed with the soap until January 2002. He can currently be seen playing Dr Patrick Turner in the BBC's hugely popular drama Call the Midwife. His West End credits include Blood Brothers, Art and Footloose.

Quote: "My wife can always tell it's a Saturday because she'll look out the conservatory window and see me filling up the bird feeders in my old slippers like the trendy person I am."

Trivia: He is married to Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas.

Cliff Parisi (Actor) .. Fred Buckle

Annabelle Apsion (Actor) .. Violet Buckle

Zephryn Taitte (Actor) .. Cyril Robinson

Georgie Glen (Actor) .. Miss Millicent Higgins

Rebecca Gethings (Actor) .. Sister Veronica

Daniel Laurie (Actor) .. Reggie Jackson

Renee Bailey (Actor) .. Nurse Joyce Highland

Natalie Quarry (Actor) .. Nurse Rosalind Clifford

Molly Vevers (Actor) .. Sister Catherine

Edward Shaw (Actor) .. Teddy Turner

Alice Brown (Actor) .. Angela Turner

April Rae Hoang (Actor) .. May Turner

Leila Ayad (Actor) .. Diane Edgar

Christopher Harper (Actor) .. Geoffrey Franklin

Arthur Devoy (Actor) .. Jonty Aylward

Fenella Woolgar (Actor) .. Sister Hilda

Linda Hargreaves (Actor) .. Mrs Wallace

Max Macmillan (Actor) .. Timothy Turner

John Addison (Actor) .. Mr Hawley

Nicholas Atkinson (Actor) .. Derek Gee

Henry Goodman (Actor) .. Mr Fischer

Born: April 23, 1950 in London

Best Known For: His extensive theatre career.

Early-life: Henry was born in London on April 23, 1950, one of six children. He went on to train as an actor at Toynbee Hall from the age of 14 at the Curtain Theatre & Studio Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career: Perhaps better known as a theatre actor, Goodman has won Olivier awards for roles in Assassins and The Merchant of Venice. His other theatre credits include Everyman in his Humour, Hysteria, Guys and Dolls, Tartuffe, Fiddler on the Roof and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. He played the role of Sir Humphrey Appleby in a stage version of Yes, Prime Minister. His film credits include Notting Hill (1999), The Damned United (2009), Taking Woodstock (2009) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). On TV, he has appeared in Cold Lazarus, Unfinished Business, Foyle's War, Nixon's the One, Yes, Prime Minister and Agents of SHIELD.

Quote: "I learned everything about life, or a lot, at least, in the East End, selling watches on Sunday mornings in Petticoat Lane, finding so much encouragement, and Stanislavsky, at Toynbee Hall."

Trivia: Goodman was nominated for an Olivier award for his performance in Chicago.

Ines Laimins (Actor) .. Sister Edith

Ocean On (Actor) .. Yuechan

Patra Au (Actor) .. Mrs Ma

Joseph Samimi (Actor) .. Frank Edgar

Allegra Marland (Actor) .. Dr Watkiss

Aoife McMahon (Actor) .. Queenie Forsyth

Leia Murphy (Actor) .. Marie Byrne

Jai Day (Actor) .. Major Burr

Kimmi Tsim (Actor) .. Grace Cheung

Thor Lok (Actor) .. Denzil Cheung

Eisa Latif (Actor) .. Harry Chopra

Yennis Cheung (Actor) .. Esther Tang

Max Ho (Actor) .. Christopher Tang

Vanessa Redgrave (Actor) .. Voice of mature Jennifer Worth

Born: January 30, 1937 in London

Best Known For: Being the most prominent member of the Redgrave theatrical dynasty.

Early-life: Born on January 30, 1937, in London, while her father Michael was on stage in Hamlet at the Old Vic with Laurence Olivier. Her mother, Rachel Kempson, was also an actor. Her sister Lynn and brother Corin followed them into the profession. Vanessa originally wanted to be a dancer, but was turned down by the Royal Ballet School for being too tall, prompting her to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Career: Redgrave's first professional job was at Frinton Summer Theatre. She made her West End debut opposite her father in A Touch of the Sun, and starred alongside him in 1958's Behind the Mask, her film debut. She became a face of the 1960s thanks to movies such as Blowup, Isadora and Camelot before winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1977 for Julia. Redgrave has continued to appear on the big screen in productions such as Agatha, Yanks, Wetherby, Howards End, Mission: Impossible, Wilde, Venus, Atonement, Song for Marion and Ralph Fiennes' acclaimed film version of Coriolanus. She's also an activist who works tirelessly for various causes, often creating controversy with her forthright views.

Quote: "Of course, I am misrepresented very often, but so is everybody who has got something to say."

Christina Yong (Actor) .. Estate agent

Heidi Thomas (Writer)

Syd Macartney (Director)

Ann Tricklebank (Producer)

Pippa Harris (Executive producer)

Call the Midwife: Christmas 2025 - Part One

8:15 pm - 9:15 pm, Thursday, December 25 on BBC One London HD (101)

About this Broadcast

Christmas 2025 - Part One
Season 1, Episode 1

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