Call the Midwife’s popularity stems from its seamless ability to straddle both entertaining moments that bring a smile to your face and poignant storylines that leave a lump in your throat.
But alongside that, the series also manages to tackle weighty subject matter in a way that’s accessible for both older and younger viewers, which sets it apart from many shows that are airing today.
That unique characteristic of the show was recently praised by stars Ella Bruccoleri (Frances) and Megan Cusack (Nancy), but they went on to say that the responsibility of handling certain narratives does weigh on them.
“You do take it home a little bit, you do feel the weight of it,” Cusack told RadioTimes.com and other press. “And we have to give props to [creator and writer] Heidi [Thomas] and the fact that she brings up all these things and really hammers them home and brings them to the surface.”
Bruccoleri added: “When it’s something that’s really unexplored as well and there’s suddenly loads of people who feel seen for the first time, if that’s your storyline, I think it can be a massive responsibility to suddenly feel that you have to speak about that in a way that is articulate. I find it quite hard sometimes.”
Cusack recalled messages that she received from viewers who shared their own adoption stories with her in response to Nancy’s child being taken into an orphanage after she gave birth at the age of 16. Another of Cusack’s storylines also centred on a teenage mother whose baby was put up for adoption.
“It was quite intense [reading those responses], but it’s very special,” she said. “And I feel very honoured that people confide these stories in me. I think it’s really beautiful. But when you’re in it, you sometimes don’t think about it.”
In Sunday night’s episode, Nancy and Frances are asked to attend a local school to talk to the female pupils about periods and sex.
“The whole point of why we’re enlisted to do this is because some girls have started really young, their periods, before anyone has had that chat with them,” said Bruccoleri. “Whether they were ever going to I don’t know. But it’s really traumatising to be that young and suddenly have blood coming out of you and not know why.”
Cusack added: “You’d think you were dying, wouldn’t you?”
Bruccoleri went on to emphasise why this topic still deserves a place on TV screens, even in 2022: “It’s still a bit of a taboo subject even now, talking about your period in public. People still think it’s a dirty thing.
“Now, if I’m going into a shop just to buy sanitary towels, I either won’t buy something else or I won’t buy a bag to cover it up. Why should I buy a bag? I’m just going to walk out the shop with it in my hand because it’s totally normal. Why should I need to hide it?”
Cusack continued: “We build it up in our own head because we’ve been brought up in this world where you’re supposed to keep quiet, like it makes you dirty or something, when it’s the most natural thing in the world.”
Read more: Call the Midwife’s Trixie assigned complicated case in preview clip
Call the Midwife season 11 continues on Sunday nights on BBC One, with seasons 1-10 available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.
Looking for something else to watch? Check out the rest of our Drama coverage or take a look at our TV Guide.