The Call the Midwife Christmas Special Features a Mission: Impossible Stunt at the Poplar Parade
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
The beloved period drama Call the Midwife is gearing up to deliver its most anticipated festive offering yet: the 2025 Christmas Special. Scheduled to premiere on December 25th on PBS and BBC One, this long-awaited holiday event promises spectacle, humor, and high drama. For fans eagerly awaiting the return of the Nonnatus House team, this special is not just a single episode but a two-episode holiday extravaganza that precedes the show’s 15th season.
The consensus among the cast is that this installment is the most “Christmassy Christmas Special” they have ever created. A new teaser has hyped a particular sequence of massive proportions: the Poplar Christmas parade, an action piece so intricate and demanding that one cast member jokingly compared the experience to filming a Tom Cruise action movie, Mission: Impossible. This blend of heartwarming community celebration and unexpected on-set difficulty sets the stage for a truly memorable viewing experience.
The Most "Christmassy" Special Yet: Setting the Scene
The heart of the holiday special revolves around the highly ambitious Poplar Christmas parade. This event, which features the whole community along with the show's intrepid team, was clearly designed to envelop viewers in a powerful festive atmosphere. Cast members have specifically highlighted the festive costumes and the effort put into creating an authentic "winter wonderland" feel.
The official Call the Midwife social media channels teased that the Christmas parade sequence was one of the most ambitious sequences the team has ever attempted. Filming the parade was a massive undertaking, necessitating numerous elaborate floats, detailed costumes, and, notably, a lot of artificial snow. Such large-scale events require significant time to organize and shoot, yet despite the logistic hurdles, the cast reportedly found the process great fun.
Achieving the Winter Wonderland Vibe
Part of achieving the ultimate festive atmosphere involved meticulous management of the fake snow required for the winter wonderland setting. Zephryn Taitte, who portrays Cyril, commented on the tricky business of getting the winter wonderland atmosphere for the parade "just right". He recalled the director providing frantic and contradictory instructions during filming, shouting both "More snow! More snow!" and immediately following up with "Too much snow! Too much snow!". This anecdote highlights the complex behind-the-scenes work required to translate the director's vision of a perfect, snowy Poplar onto the screen.
The Poplar Christmas Parade: A Massive Production
The scope of the Poplar Christmas parade extended far beyond festive visuals; it required professional coordination to ensure safety during the large-scale production. The necessity of incorporating a stunt coordinator for certain scenes underscored the complexity and scale of the sequence.
Molly Vevers, who plays Sister Catherine, detailed her experience on the parade float, revealing that the production team had to bring in a stunt coordinator because parts of the filming were considered technically stunts. Vevers, along with Renee and Natalie, played angels on the float. This role required them to be secured to the moving platform.
Invisible Ropes and Angel Acting: The Unexpected Stunt
The true measure of the complexity involved in the Poplar Parade comes from the specific details of the ‘Angel acting’ required on the float. Sister Catherine star Molly Vevers described how she and the other actresses were tied to the float using “invisible ropes”. This method allowed them to perform their roles while ensuring they remained secure.
It was this specific act of being secured for performance on a moving float that led Vevers to draw her amusing comparison to blockbuster action movies. She explained that having the stunt coordinator involved and being tied down made the process feel thrilling, remarking, "It felt like Mission: Impossible!”. The notion that Call the Midwife, a beloved period drama, could share technical filming challenges with a high-stakes Tom Cruise film like Mission: Impossible highlights the ambition and scale of the 2025 Christmas Special.
Trixie’s Favorite Festive Fashion
The costumes designed for the parade contributed significantly to the festive atmosphere, especially for the key cast members. Helen George, who plays Trixie Franklin, was particularly enthusiastic about the wardrobe, noting that the costumes were "incredible," thanks to the show's Head of Costume, Justine Luxton.
Trixie gets to take part in the parade, traveling along on a "very Christmassy-looking van" while wearing her angel costume. George stated that this angel outfit is "probably the favourite costume I've ever worn" throughout the entire run of the show. She elaborated that the costume boasts a “1970s twist,” featuring a beautiful white coat with a fur trim, angel wings extending from the back, and unique, cool glittery stars. For George, the opportunity to dress up in such a unique and festive outfit was a source of great fun, solidifying her belief that this will be one of the most Christmassy specials ever.
New Territory and High Stakes: Teasing the Drama
While much of the focus is on the festive community spirit of the Poplar parade, the 2025 special will not shy away from the hallmark dramatic elements that keep viewers engaged. The two-part special is set to venture into "absolutely new ground" and "completely new territory," according to Laura Main, who portrays Shelagh Turner.
Stephen McGann (Patrick Turner) has teased that, as always, the special will contain real drama, but fans can also look forward to "especially humorous moments" and a "wonderful thing that happens".
On the dramatic front, the stakes appear to be significantly raised. Jenny Agutter, who plays Sister Julienne, confirmed that the special will feature an element of travel, including a trip to Hong Kong for some of the Nonnatus House team. Even more dramatically, Agutter teased that the special will feature "many fatalities," suggesting that the Christmas cheer will be balanced by profound and potentially disturbing events. Meanwhile, for Trixie and Matthew, things are reportedly feeling "more stable than they possibly ever have" between the couple, suggesting their personal lives may offer a respite amid the broader drama.
🔖 Key Takeaways
The 2025 Call the Midwife Christmas Special, airing on December 25th, is set to be the show's most festive and ambitious holiday offering to date.
🗝️ Massive Production Scale: The central sequence involves the Poplar Christmas parade, a major undertaking that included numerous floats, extensive costumes, and detailed coordination to achieve a winter wonderland setting.
🗝️ Unexpected Action: The filming of the parade required a stunt coordinator because of the technical challenges of securing actresses like Molly Vevers (Sister Catherine) to the moving float. This complex maneuvering, achieved using invisible ropes for "Angel acting," led Vevers to compare the experience to filming a Mission: Impossible Stunt.
🗝️ Festive Fashion: Helen George (Trixie Franklin) adored her 1970s-inspired angel costume—a white coat with a fur trim, wings, and glittery stars—calling it her favorite costume ever worn on the show.
🗝️ High Stakes Drama: Beyond the celebration, the special promises to break "new ground". It includes a plot thread involving travel to Hong Kong and severe dramatic consequences, with one star teasing that the special will feature "many fatalities".
The special masterfully merges community cheer and challenging drama, promising fans a richly satisfying holiday experience that moves into entirely new territory while providing classic festive joy.
🌐 External sources
Keywords: Call the Midwife Christmas Special
Call the Midwife Christmas Special
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