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Pictures from the ACGAS 2024 Christmas Special

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BBC Trailer: Call the Midwife Christmas Special

@ilovemushystuff thanks!

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A little clip posted on X this morning. No spoilers.

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Along with this opportunity, the accomplished actress also wrapped up shooting the third Downton Abbey movie with the beloved cast in the summer. The last in the trilogy is set to premiere in theaters on September 12, 2025. Playing Mrs. Beryl Patmore, this will mark the end of an era.

While Nicol is tightlipped about what fans can expect to see in the movie, she did say it “was made with much love and commitment as always. I hope people like it,” The 71-year-old opened up about the filming experience. “It was a strange feeling on set because you realize this is the last time we’ll ever do it, and we’ve been doing it for 14 years,” she said. “That’s a long time and a very bonded family.”

As one would imagine, the loss of the legendary Maggie Smith in September hit Nicol and the other crew hard. She played Violet Crawley before the Dowager Countess of Grantham died in the second film. “To lose Maggie was terrible,” Nicol said.

She continued, “On the other hand, I think she wasn’t well and it wasn’t a nice way to exist. I’m a firm believer because this was drummed into me by doctor dad, which is just being around ill is not the way to live. I hope it was the right time for her to move on. {Maggie} wasn’t in the {third and} last film obviously because {Violet} died in the last one. She was missed because she was a great person to have around. She was highly entertaining and greatly loved by all of us. There was a tinge of sadness for sure.”

Thinking of the holidays, Christmas was always a special time for Downton Abbey, A show known for its yuletide episodes throughout the British drama’s six seasons. Nicol liked it because this often meant a change of scenery.

“Often I’d get a trip to the house,” she said. “The place that is Downton Abbey was probably an hour away from London. Because I was constantly in the kitchen, quite rightly because she would be, but I didn’t get trips over there often. When it was Christmas there all seemed to be a party or something around the Christmas tree or a family get-together I got to join them. I’ve got memories of a big Christmas in that big Abbey. It looks very nice at Christmas. It suits it very well. I’ve got some good memories there and filming those."

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BBC Breakfast - Laura Main (17.12.2o24)

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Speaking exclusively with RadioTimes.com, Woodhouse said: "It's usually end of February [when we start filming]. But I think it'll be a while before we get scripts.

"We usually get them at the start of the year. So, get Christmas out of the way, and then we'll get to see what we’re doing next."

When asked whether he knew what was coming up for his character and for the show as a whole, Woodhouse said: "We've had a few little teasers [about what’s in store], but also at that stage, you don't know if it is going to change.

"So when they give you these teasers, you don't want to take it as gospel, like, 'OK, that's definitely what I'll be doing next series,' because anything could change between then and there.

"I’m sure when they give us these teasers, they're still very much in the workshop stage."

The cast may not yet know what's coming up in season 6, but James and Helen stars Nicholas Ralph and Rachel Shenton have already revealed what they are hoping for.

Shenton said: "I like that we’ve got to play these characters for such a long time that you get to see them at such major milestones in their life, and so she’s a had a child, got married and now moved out of her home.

"Now, we’re seeing her as a fully fledged adult, and they’re a young family navigating that. I guess seeing a bit more of that would be great, because James has been absent until early on in this season."

Meanwhile, Ralph added: "Definitely, though, I think certainly because of that separation and the war, having missed the first four months of little Jimmy’s life, I think, yeah, kind of getting back to them being a little family, a little unit, a little team, and seeing a lot more of that.

"Because we’ve missed that, the characters have missed that, so it would be nice to see them come back."

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"It will always be in the back of his mind, but he's just once again being reminded about how fortunate he is."

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But thankfully, he has since "managed to deal with it to a certain degree", Nicholas Ralph told RadioTimes.com.

"He does bottle things up a little bit and tries to be very stoic about it and put his best foot forward. But at the same time, the brucellosis was almost like a blessing in disguise because he did have this delirious outpouring of emotion, which Helen saw, and then he managed to open up to her properly about it and deal with those things by talking it through.

"So he’s definitely in a much better place than he was. It will always be in the back of his mind, but he's just once again being reminded about how fortunate he is actually to be back because so many young men aren't.

"And to be there for little Jimmy on his first birthday, and to be there with all the family and friends, he’s incredibly grateful and just taking it all like it's brand new again."

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This year's All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special is once again set during the Second World War, and with Tristan continuing to deal with what he saw while fighting, and Mrs Hall set to be "shaken by unexpected news", fans could expect it to be a somewhat sombre affair.

Now, though, Tristan star Callum Woodhouse has stressed that this is not the case, saying that while the episode does have "very heavy overtones", it is still "heartwarming", "uplifting" and "Christmassy".

Speaking exclusively with RadioTimes.com, Woodhouse said: "It's just a really clever bit of storytelling that with All Creatures, we can still make a really heartwarming and uplifting episode, even in the midst of such uncertainty and tragedy, for want of a better word.

"It's still about family coming together and being there for one another. And I think it is still a very Christmassy episode despite the very heavy overtones that it has."

The show's cast recently spoke about why they think it means so much to people, especially at Christmastime, with Helen star Rachel Shenton saying: "Because I think it’s an annual reminder of what’s important. All Creatures just always does it so well. It’s always so rich in its simplicity. It’s always about the things that matter, which is love, community, support.

"Those things never stop being relevant. And, you know, as humans, we never stop needing a reminder, unfortunately. So, yeah, I think that’s probably why it’s so popular. Amongst other things, the beautiful dales are gorgeous - all of it!"

Meanwhile, James star Nicholas Ralph added: "I was stopped on the street the other day by someone who was saying how much they love the show, that they watch it with their mother, and they watch it with their kids.

"It’s just about nice people looking after animals and looking after each other. I said that it’s an interesting show, because there’s no baddie in it.

"There’re no villains. It’s just about making your way in the world and looking after people, and being nice to people, putting kindness out there and expecting kindness back, and usually always getting it back.

"And it’s just a nice message, really – and one that the people who watch the show take on board and take into their own lives, especially at Christmas."

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A first clip for the Christmas Special with Samuel West and the Owen Phillips. I don't think we've seen last of this fine, young actor 😍

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