Call the Midwife

A grubby, rank little urchin wheels his filthy baby sister and her even filthier pram into the weekly Poplar clinic demanding milk tokens and orange juice. But he’s cagey about his mum – where is she? And what’s the family home like? Trixie is worried.

As the full story behind this unhappy brood emerges at the start of a new series of Heidi Thomas’s babies-and-Bibles blockbuster, even those with hearts of glass will melt into tiny heaps of glucose and tears. Young Alfie Davis, who plays the little mudlark Gary, will have you reaching for a hanky as he tries to do the best for his wee sisters, and the postscript is gutting.

But never fear, there’s light relief from gauche new midwife Barbara, who is given a very unwise baptism with Cinzano Bianco by her naughty new chums at Nonnatus House.

Don’t try to resist any of it, you will fail.