Our fight for life

Stephen McGann on the train-crash cliffhanger and this week’s exciting series finale

- CAREN CLARK

CALL THE MIDWIFE LAST ONE SUN / BBC1 / 8PM / EP 8 of 8 / DRAMA

The residents of Nonnatus House always go the extra mile for their patients. But the shocking climax to the current series of BBC1’s period drama Call the Midwife sees them tested like never before, as their own nearest and dearest come under threat following last week’s horrific train crash.

Dr Turner (Stephen McGann), Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) and midwife Nancy (Megan Cusack) were on a train coming back from a conference when the driver fell ill, causing it to derail.

But while Nancy managed to escape, Dr Turner and Sister Julienne remain trapped – will they make it out alive?

Here, in an exclusive interview, Stephen, 59, chats to TV Times about the drama to come…

What can you tell us about the aftermath of the crash?

This is a huge event. When I was a child, train crashes occurred with terrible frequency and there was one particular crash that happened in London, which Heidi [Thomas, the show’s creator, who is married to Stephen] used as a baseline.

Heidi explained, ‘I want something where the ones at Nonnatus House who normally run things when something goes wrong should be the ones who are imperilled. Therefore, everybody else has to step up.’

Nonnatus House becomes a first-aid station. How do they cope?

They have the walking wounded, and the train driver’s wife is about to give birth at the maternity home, so there’s lots to attend to.

A disaster like this can make or break people, because everybody gets drawn in. Who’s going to collapse and who’s going to steer the ship?