The Trixie and Matthew stars talk wedding drama and keeping their characters’ married life “exciting”.
This interview was originally published in Radio Times magazine.
Everyone loves a wedding. Never more so than when it’s that of a much-loved couple whose relationship has been plagued by setbacks. To say the course of true love didn’t run smooth for Matthew and Trixie is an understatement. Since becoming an item in series ten, the couple have experienced more than their fair share of heartache.
All of which makes Trixie and Matthew’s wedding day a very special one, destined to be a ratings-buster for the popular show – although we’re not giving away any spoilers by revealing that there are some major hiccups – this is Call the Midwife, after all.
Speaking to Radio Times over Zoom from their respective homes in London, Helen George and Olly Rix agree that filming their characters’ big day was an uplifting experience, but also an arduous one. While weddings look wonderful on screen, they can be notoriously tough and drawn-out to film.
“It was a long day,” Helen confirms, her own hair much longer, wavier and more brunette than Trixie’s. “We did go over our schedule by about an hour and a half. But it was also a beautiful day. There was a real sense of occasion. And it was lovely that all the cast got to be together.”
Helen says that the look of the nuptials was inspired by society weddings of the time – after all, Matthew is the son and heir of an aristocrat – and that Trixie’s dress referenced a Givenchy campaign starring Audrey Hepburn, a muse to the designer throughout the 1960s. “It was a beautiful photograph of Audrey looking demure and gorgeous with this small pillbox hat on her head, and a long veil. Trixie’s version was loosely based around that.”
While it would be unfair to call Trixie a bridezilla, her patience is tested when one of her “something old, new, borrowed and blue” accoutrements fails to materialise. Is Trixie’s perfectionism something to which Helen can relate?
“I think it’s natural for any woman to want to get it completely right – it’s an important day in anyone’s life,” she says. “Something did go wrong on the day of filming, too. We’d been given pizzas, because everyone was starving. And poor Meghan [Cusack, who plays Nancy Corrigan] got grease all over her bridesmaid’s dress. That was a drama.”
As for whether there will be any drama in the happy couple’s future, Olly thinks not, and believes theirs is definitely a love match. “It’s absolutely that. There’s nothing facile or easy about their relationship. They’ve gone through a lot, especially grief. Trixie helped him learn how to raise a child and Matthew lost his own father just prior to the wedding. That they didn’t postpone is testament to how vital it is for them.”
Nor does Olly feel that the couple’s different backgrounds make for a mismatch. “Matthew uses his money for the correct causes. He’s an unusual character in that respect, because he uses his money to champion things that Trixie cares about, so I don’t anticipate it being a problem.”
With more money at her disposal, is Trixie likely to turn into the Hyacinth Bucket of Nonnatus House? “She’s not a gold digger,” says Helen, almost indignantly. “It’s coincidental that she fell in love with Matthew. It wasn’t for the money. Yes, the Jag is great, but it’s a nightmare to get in and out of!”
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/02/Call-the-Midwife-trixie-338a622.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"\"")
While Helen has been in the show since its first episode in 2012, Olly joined in 2020, when Britain was in lockdown, making the tricky issue of being a newbie on a well-established show trickier still.
“I joined in series 10, and didn’t meet the rest of the cast until series 11, so I did a whole series pretty much with just Helen,” he remembers. “She became a bit of a North Star. It wasn’t easy, but Helen and I really listen to one another, and have done from day one. She also gave me a rundown of the show’s history, because I didn’t sit down to watch ten series’ worth of Call the Midwife.”
“Olly thought I was a nun for the first three years,” laughs Helen.
While not all the female characters are nuns, the show is nevertheless a matriarchy, a quality that Olly values. “I’m very close to my mother and younger sister anyway, but before Midwife, I’d also just finished two years of working on the US drama series The Spanish Princess, which was a reframing of the history of Henry VIII through the eyes of Catherine of Aragon. That was also scripted by female writers, directed by female directors and had a very strong, predominantly female cast.”
That more stories are being told through a female lens requires a particular diligence from male actors, according to Olly. “You have to realise that the camera is not looking at you necessarily in the way you think it is. The eye is female. That’s interesting – for me as well. Because Matthew’s part is written by a woman [Heidi Thomas], I don’t always understand why he’s doing certain things. I often run to Helen and say, ‘Would I say that?'”
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/01/405049-334bf90.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"\"")
There’s no shortage of gritty TV dramas and Olly notes that “basic stories of kindness and human decency” are increasingly few and far between, which is possibly why viewers respond so strongly to Call the Midwife.
“People message me a lot, essentially saying they wish they had somebody in their life that looked after them the way that Matthew looks after Trixie. People are really yearning for some sort of protection; somebody to put their arm around them and tell them it’s going to be OK. They need to feel that there is some decency out there.”
Ironically, Olly also recalls how, when Matthew first got together with Trixie, he’d receive messages from viewers saying that they didn’t trust him. “We’re conditioned to expect the worst. Obviously, I couldn’t give away any of the storyline, but I wanted to reassure people and say, ‘No, it’s not going to be what you think it is. Trixie is actually going to be happy, and Matthew is a decent guy.'”
Having been in Call the Midwife from the beginning (bar a brief hiatus in 2021, when she was on maternity leave with her second child), Helen must look back on young Trixie and feel she’s come a long way.
“Definitely. In the early series, Trixie was first brought on as the blonde, bubbly friend of Jenny Lee who liked to drink and smoke and talk about boys. It’s been really nice to peel back those layers and get to know her even more. I’m lucky that Heidi and the writers have invested in me in that way.”
With the ring on her finger, will it soon be time for Trixie to be at the other end of the blanket, with someone else mopping her brow? “Who knows?” laughs Helen. “I’m not going to comment, because it’s out of our hands. As long as there are interesting stories to play, I’m down with that.”
As for what will happen next to the happy couple, don’t ask. “We have no idea,” says Helen. “Honestly, we find out the day before we start shooting. But I think both of us are pretty dedicated to not letting the marriage become too comfortable.”
“Yes, we’ll resist that sort of happy complacency,” Olly agrees. “They’re deeply involved in the community around them, and neither Helen nor I want to see them disappear or recede from that. If anything, we want to see them get more involved.”
“Fundamentally, it has to be an exciting marriage,” says Helen. “If you see them wearing matching slippers, then it’s time to stop.”
The Call the Midwife season finale airs on Sunday 26th February on BBC One at 8pm, while the series is also available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.
Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.