It's men’s health talk time in Call the Midwife

When the Radio Times celebrated its website’s 25th anniversary in 2022 by asking readers to vote for the best TV show of the past 25 years, the nominees included such critically acclaimed, much talked-about series as Breaking Bad, Line of Duty, Fleabag and The Wire.

However, the resounding winner with, appropriately enough, 25 per cent of the vote was Call the Midwife. It’s a sign that despite the lack of hype, the drama has become a TV institution. (If you want further proof, the festive specials have also become a staple of the Christmas Day schedules.)

So, why has Call the Midwife proved so popular? Perhaps it’s because that while the period drama may have a reputation for being cosy, Sunday night viewing, it has also tackled some difficult issues – this series alone has looked at the racial tensions that followed Enoch Powell’s notorious ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech.

It has also constantly moved on – the first episodes, which aired in 2012, were set during 1957, while we’re now up to 1968.

The show’s creator Heidi Thomas certainly believes that’s a factor. After topping the poll, she said: “When you’ve been going on for as many years as we have, you know you’re not the thrill of the new any more, so I think it says a lot about our audience’s loyalty. But also about the fact that we’re doing something right in keeping the show fresh as we move forward. That in itself, I think, is the most encouraging thing.”

The fact that the series has been moving forward through time means we’ve seen the midwives deal with some big social changes, including the arrival of the contraceptive pill.

And in the latest episode Dr Turner and Sister Veronica arrange a men’s health talk to discuss another innovation in reproductive health – the vasectomy.

Meanwhile, Nancy is caring for Jill Mellor and her newborn baby, Mylene, although it’s the father, Spencer, who causes concern when his behaviour becomes increasingly erratic.

Nancy calls on Dr Turner, who refers him for an urgent psychiatry review, but events are about to take a shocking turn.

If he didn’t already have enough on his plate treating Spencer and explaining the concept of ‘the snip’, Dr Turner also joins forces with Nurse Crane to care for Annette Berkley, who has rheumatic heart disease and has gone against medical advice by falling pregnant again.

Matthew’s father, Sir Brigham, visits Poplar, but while the son has grown fond of the area and its residents and believes the family should invest more money in the borough, his dad is much less impressed and wants to sell up. It makes for a very strained father-son relationship, but will things get worse when Trixie delivers heart-breaking news?

Speaking of bad news, the Board of Health have an unwelcome message for Sister Julienne. Timothy gets a job with the council as a bathing assistant, but is surprised to learn who he will be working with, and Shelagh is feeling out of sorts.