Essence of Christmas
We give people the escape they need, says Heidi Thomas
BBC/Nealstreet Productions
- Gareth McLean
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There are certain elements essential to a Call the Midwife Christmas special, insists the show’s creator Heidi Thomas. Key among these: “You have to see Fred in his Santa costume!” Cliff Parisi as Fred has appeared as Santa in all 13 Christmas specials, because, Thomas notes, “It’s very important for me to keep the magic of Christmas alive.”
Her own belief was shaken prematurely. “When I was three and we were living in Sheffield, I was taken to a department store grotto to see Father Christmas. My mother wanted to avoid the queues so we arrived early, only to bump into Santa Claus — minus his beard and incorrectly attired — who declared grumpily, ‘We don’t open till nine.’” That was that.
Stephen McGann as Dr Turner and Natalie Quarry as Nurse Clifford in Call the Midwife season 14. BBC
Her apoplectic mother was met with apologetic management who tried to rescue the situation by offering her anything she wanted from the toy department. “I picked a giant baby boy doll I called Michael. I had
him for years.”
You cannot leave characters or the audience devastated at Christmas
Similarly, there are things that you will not see in Call the Midwife at Christmas. “You cannot leave characters or the audience devastated at Christmas. Other episodes, yes absolutely — and we have done. But not at Christmas.”
Thomas is keenly aware that some of the audience find solace in Call the Midwife’s Christmas special, just as she did in 2018. “My mum had terminal cancer and we didn’t think she’d see Christmas. I gave up work and moved back to Liverpool for those five months to look after her and I couldn’t participate in Christmas.”
Thomas’s mother lived to see Christmas, but that evening she fell out of bed and had a seizure — just as Thomas and her family were watching the end of Call the Midwife’s special. “It was the most Christmassy thing we did that year and by the time the credits rolled, there were ambulance men stomping up and down the stairs.”
Thomas’s mother died early the following January. “What that experience really brought home for me is that there are some people for whom Call the Midwife Christmas special is an escape — because it was an escape for me that year. And for some people, Christmas is hard every year. Because they’re lonely or their lives aren’t the ones they would have chosen.
“If Call the Midwife has become a part of the nation’s experience of Christmas, that’s something I take very seriously. It’s a privilege and a responsibility.”
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So, when the BBC asked if she’d be interested in making the festive special a two-parter, Thomas says, “It felt like a lovely opportunity to give people more of something they love.”
Authors
Gareth McLean
Gareth McLean has been writing about television for nearly 30 years. As a critic, he's reviewed thousands of programmes. As a feature writer, he's interviewed hundreds of people, from Liza Minnelli to Jimmy Savile. He has also written for TV.
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