Call The Midwife

[Homethroughthepuddles]

Surprised there's no thread on this. Did anyone watch it last night or has the series reached its natural end and is no longer attracting viewers?

Not a regular contributor to this thread but I do pop in occasionally.

I've never really understand when people cry watching TV and I know CTM seems to be a real tearjerker for some. But not me, obviously I'm way too hard-nosed for that!

I've just caught up with Sunday's episode and I bizarrely found myself really proper sobbing at the end. I honestly don't know why, but it was something about Vanessa Redgrave's voiceover, the dance, the music, the glitter ball, the girl dying of cancer dancing with her German POW stepfather, the cuddly policeman dancing with the receptionist lady, Reggie's girlfriend .... it all proved too much I'm afraid and I am now a snivelling snotty wreck!

Like you, Fontella, hard-nosed and stiff-upper-lipped as I am CTM is the only TV programme that finds me gulping down the lump in my throat - I think it's the birth of the babies that sets me off. (Have never watched One Born Every Minute to test my theory, though!)

Babies being born always gets me even if I know it's not real, something sets the hormones off I think.

Thought the German guy was her real dad and the woman was her step- mum?

No, her mum met the German POW when she was little.

Thought the German guy was her real dad and the woman was her step- mum

It was very clear from the narrative. The German POW from the war, stayed in the UK, met an English girl with a 6 year old daughter. Daughter was the same age as his sister who had been killed in Germany (bombing raids, we don't know that wasn't explained).

It was also touched on that his English wife had suffered abuse/discrimination because she'd married a German and had a German surname.

He and his wife had four boys and then his step daughter was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and his wife gave birth to a baby girl. So there was this whole complex mix of emotions, the dying girl, the new born girl, the step father's dead sister ... etc. etc.

I'm also hard nosed as well, the only slight tear jerker for me was when Barbra died and Phylis continued psalm 23 when Tom couldn't.

I think his sister starved to death between the wars, during hyperinflation and food shortages.

Yes, he said his sister died because of starvation. She died with her head on his shoulder

Yes, he had been talking about how a loaf of bread cost several million marks then said how his sister starved.

There was also the thing that he thought she didn't need his love because she had so much but he was realising that perhaps she did. That was yet another reason why him dancing the father-daughter dance was so poignant.

Thanks everyone - yes of course, his sister died from starvation. It was such a packed episode, I'd forgotten that part, just remembered she'd died at the same age as his stepdaughter was when he first met her mum.

A. very poignant episode indeed.

Hi! I have enjoyed reading all the messages here, they are interesting! I am currently researching the representation of Cockney in Call the Midwife for an essay and I was wondering what everyone thinks of the Cockney accent in the TV Programme (and the book if you have read it)? Do you think it's authentic? I would be interested to hear your thoughts! Thank you in advance, Grace :)

A wee historical quiz on the real-life Hebridean midwives: historycompany.co.uk/2019/12/20/call-the-midwife-christmas-special/