Yahoo News Stephen McGann's life outside of Call the Midwife
The actor has portrayed Dr Patrick Turner in the BBC drama since it first began in 2012, and he has an equally interesting life away from the small screen.
Call the Midwife has had many big names appear in the feel-good drama about the lives and work of midwives in Poplar, in London's East End, across several decades.
One such star is Stephen McGann who has played Dr Patrick Turner since series 1 and has been appearing in the series ever since. His general practitioner character returned to the BBC drama for the fourteenth series, which has taken the characters into the 1970s.
Fans of Call the Midwife have always had a lot of love for McGann's character, who is often on hand to help save lives, deliver babies, and generally be a positive influence on those around him. The same can be said of McGann, who has an interesting life of his own.
Stephen McGann's rise to fame
McGann began his acting career on the stage, making his debut in West End musical Yakety Yak before gaining critical acclaim in productions like 1989's Blood Brothers, 2003's Art, and 2006's musical take on the classic film Footloose.
The actor has also made a name for himself on the small screen, appearing in soap Emmerdale from 1999 to 2002 as Sean Reynolds, with his tenure on the series lasting 298 episodes. McGann also appeared on the medical drama Casualty and Doctors, marking his first foray into medical TV prior to Call the Midwife.
His famous family
The actor is not the only member of his family who is in the acting business, with his older brothers Paul, Mark and Joe also working as actors.
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Joe McGann is known for his roles in shows like The Upper Hand and Night and Day, while he has also stepped into voice work in video games like Elden Ring. He also had a recurring role in Hollyoaks from 2019 to 2020, and starred in Netflix's Greek myth retelling KAOS. His brother Mark has worked predominantly on stage, earning two Olivier Award nominations for his performances in Lennon and Up on the Roof. He also appeared in stage shows like Blood Brothers and An Inspector Calls.
Paul McGann is perhaps best known for playing the eighth iteration of The Doctor in the ill-fated TV movie that was released in 1996, the last Doctor Who project before the series was rebooted in 2005. He has long been a staple of the British TV and film industry, and has appeared in shows like Luther, Queen of the Damned, and Holby City.
All four brothers starred together in The Hanging Gale, a BBC drama set against the Great Famine in Ireland which is inspired by their family history.
His life outside of Call the Midwife
McGann has an interesting life away from the screen, and the actor has a passionate interest in medicine and medical research — this is one of the reasons why playing Doctor Turner is such a joy for him.
The actor has looked into the genealogy of his family, and written a book titled Flesh and Blood which examines his family history through seven sicknesses they experienced over the generations. His academic interest in medicine has also trickled into his acting work, with McGann commenting on the medical accuracy of the BBC series and even writing Doctor Turner's Casebook in 2017.
In his personal life, McGann is married to Heidi Thomas with whom he shares one son. Thomas is the creator of Call the Midwife, but while he has such a close connection to one of the show's writers she has previously joked that she keeps her husband in the dark about what's to come.
Speaking to Good Housekeeping in 2020, Thomas said: "I live with Stephen McGann who plays Dr. Turner because we've been married for 30 years and so he's the character I know best off-screen.
"I never show him scripts or storylines before the other actors see them because I don't think it's fair on him to have to keep secrets. He is completely in the dark until he gets that script."
Call the Midwife airs every Sunday at 8pm on BBC One, and it is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
