The comedian plays a pregnant woman in the opening episode of season 13.
Call the Midwife has once again welcomed a batch of new guest stars for its latest chapter, one of whom is comedian Rosie Jones.
Many viewers will recognise her from Channel 4’s The Last Leg, but few will have seen her flexing her dramatic muscles, as she does in the opening episode of season 13.
Jones plays Doreen, a pregnant woman with cerebral palsy who tries to hide her pregnancy from her mother for fear of how she will respond, a decision which threatens their relationship. But, thankfully, mother and daughter are able to overcome their differences and Doreen’s baby is born without a hitch.
Stephen McGann, who stars as Dr Patrick Turner, described Jones as “fantastic” and “stunning to work with” to RadioTimes.com and other press, adding: “She’s bright, funny and absolutely committed to her work.
“I believe [show creator] Heidi [Thomas] and the team sent her the script first and said, ‘Is this something you might want to do?’ And her response was, ‘This is just the kind of thing I’d really like to do.’ And what a hoot she was. Everyone just kept saying, ‘Have you met Rosie? She’s so brilliant.’ She’s one of those people.”
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Miss Higgins star Georgie Glen was also full of praise for Jones.
“I did think she was superb,” said Glen. “She was such a wonderful cast member. And she didn’t want to be specially catered for in any way. She hung around for hours on set along with the rest of us. She just was amazing.”
In the episode, it’s also revealed that Doreen was delivered by Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) during the height of the World War II ‘Doodlebug’ Raids. During the birth, Doreen’s clavicle was broken and at 14 months, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Sister Julienne was horrified that she had not only forgotten the delivery, but that she may have been responsible for Doreen’s disability. But Shelagh Turner (Laura Main) assured her that “no one can know what causes a condition like Doreen’s”, and neither Doreen nor her family blamed Sister Julienne for what had happened.
“What’s interesting is you’re suddenly playing with history as well as the future,” said Agutter. “It’s easy to forget someone’s life has been through the First and Second World War [as Sister Julienne’s has].
“It was a really interesting story because it made me think about that, of just remembering what it was like during the war, and the babies that were born and how difficult that was, and that one was just lucky to be able to deliver at all under the circumstances.
“As someone who has always been in control, Sister Julienne is usually in control of situations and in this case, it just completely falls apart. It was interesting to be able to play because it focuses on the history and the backstory of how much has changed. And suddenly being in a moment that you can’t deal with.”
She added: “It was wonderful to do. I’m delighted to have worked with Rosie Jones, who has such vitality and humour and just enjoys everything that she’s doing. So that made it really good fun.”
Call the Midwife continues on Sunday 14th January at 8pm on BBC One. For more, check out our dedicated Drama page or our full TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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