All Change In Popular

The cast on the overthrow of kindly Sister Julienne by a tyrannical new boss – and the show’s dark new storylines.

Whatever’s going on in the world, every Call the Midwife fan knows that all will be well as long as cool, calm and collected Sister Julienne is at the helm of Nonnatus House.

So imagine TV Times’ shock when we visit the set of the hit BBC1 drama in Surrey to discover that the stoic nun, played by Jenny Agutter, has been demoted!

While the nuns and midwives were helping a mission hospital in South Africa in the Christmas episode, back home Nonnatus House was undergoing changes. A strict disciplinarian, Sister Ursula – played by new recruit Harriet Walter – covered for Sister Julienne. And when the group return to Poplar for this week’s opening episode of series six, they’re shocked when she’s given the role permanently.

As Jenny, 64, sits down to chat to us on the show’s catering bus, she reveals that Sister Julienne’s nose is uncharacteristically put out of joint.

‘It’s a real slap in the face for Sister Julienne as she has been so comfortable there,’ she says. ‘She sees it as a test for her faith.’