Call the Midwife Christmas Special , set in December 1965, follows the team at Nonnatus House navigating a difficult winter season, featuring a visiting circus and Shelagh managing a televised children's choir. The episode, starring Jenny Agutter and Helen George, focuses on community, the changing times of the 1960s, and a health scare for Sister Monica Joan.
"Call the Midwife" returns for Series 10 in Spring 2021. The 2020 Christmas Special is available for streaming on BBC iPlayer (UK) and PBS Passport (US).
If you're looking for a feel-good, uplifting holiday special that will leave you smiling and perhaps even shed a tear or two, then this episode of Call the Midwife is an absolute must-watch. Call.The.Midwife.S10E00.Christmas.Special.2020....
The episode brilliantly weaves medical history into character drama:
It firmly establishes the mid-60s aesthetic, with fashion and social attitudes beginning to shift more rapidly. Call the Midwife Christmas Special , set in
Visually, the special is stunning. Production designer Sarah Hauldren moves away from the earlier 1950s pastels into the bold, clashing colors of mid-1960s London. The Christmas decorations are a mix of homemade paper chains (reflecting the poverty of Poplar) and new, shiny aluminum tinsel (reflecting the coming modern age).
: A travelling circus arrives in Poplar, led by the ringmaster Mr. Percival (played by Peter Davison). The arrival brings a "magical spell" to the residents but also presents unique medical challenges, specifically for the ringmaster's pregnant daughter. The 2020 Christmas Special is available for streaming
Set in late 1966, the episode opens with the familiar rhythms of the East End and the bustling activity of the midwives. The post-war era’s social shifts press in around the nuns and midwives — changing attitudes to family life, medical advances, and the slow reshaping of neighborhood communities — but Christmas gives the characters a moment to slow and reconnect. The production leans into period detail: crisp costumes, muted winter light, and a soundtrack of hope and melancholy that suits the season.