Call The Midwife's Christmas special to show record number of births

This year's ‘Call The Midwife’ Christmas special will mark a record number of babies born in one episode of the show.

The Christmas Day instalment of the BBC One period drama - which is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, titled ‘Call The Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s’ - will feature five pregnant women giving birth, which is a record for the programme over its 10 series, since it began in 2012.

Helen George, 37 - who plays midwife Trixie Franklin in the show - told The Sun newspaper: “That’s the most babies ever born in one episode. I’ve never seen that.”

Megan Cusack, 25 - who plays Nancy, a new addition to Nonnatus House, the fictional Poplar convent - says the decision feels “realistic” due to the magic associated with Christmas.

She said: “That was really nice. And it feels like at Christmas there are a lot of myths, and old wives tales over the years.

“It’s like full moons and Christmas - you know loads of babies are going to happen. So it feels pretty realistic. And that Christmas frantic rush that goes with it.”

Heidi Thomas, the creator of the show - which has progressed from the 50s to the 60s - admitted she enjoys coming up with new childbirth scenarios.

She said: “So, amazing things happen to women’s bodies generally, but in this series specifically. And as ever, when we deal with childbirth, it’s not about putting the mother’s life in peril.

“It’s often about context. There are only so many ways a baby can come out of a woman’s body. So how we’ve managed to do 96 episodes about it, I sometimes wonder.”