Call the Midwife writer teases "more contemporary" project after show ends

Aside from a couple of other projects, Call the Midwife has been Heidi Thomas's life since 2012 when it first debuted on the BBC – but also long before that, when she first began immersing herself in the memoirs of nurse and midwife Jennifer Worth.

But while there's a prequel and a movie on the way, plus a 16th season beyond that (although it'll be quite some before its premiere), the end is now within sight as times change in Poplar.

So naturally, Thomas has allowed her mind to meander elsewhere.

"I am working on something more contemporary later this year," she said at the Radio Times Covers Party 2026. "My main preoccupation at the moment is the Call the Midwife prequel and film, but it will be nice to have something different in the mix."

Still, Thomas said she "passionately enjoy[s] historic storytelling" – though, she added wryly, the latest season of Call the Midwife is set in the 1970s, "which I remember".

Read more:

• Call the Midwife cast look back on show's 15-year run ahead of the show's hiatus
• Call the Midwife creator talks series hiatus: "All of a sudden everybody was really sobbing"

"So it's actually quite painful thinking that is also history," she added. "But going back to 1939 because the prequel is set in the Blitz, it's been really educational. It's made me think a great deal about my mother's experience as a child in the Blitz, and my grandmother's experience as a young mother.

"So deeply thought provoking and very energising, very energising for me, definitely."

The prequel, which is a three-part mini-series, will debut this Christmas, although the BBC hasn't yet confirmed that.

Younger versions of Sister Julienne, Sister Evangelina and Sister Monica Joan, who died in the season 15 finale, will lead the charge alongside "three young midwives, all completely new, relatively new to the East End, and they really do get thrown in at the deep end".

Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google Keep up to date on what’s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times – see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google.

"I think the interesting thing for me is it's a world where women are not in charge when war breaks out, but very rapidly, they are in charge of everything because the men are called away, either to home front-based war work or they go overseas," she expanded.

"So you'll see a lot of women coming into their own... it's a programme that is going to be about strong women above all else."

Call the Midwife seasons 1-15 are available to stream now on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Add Call the Midwife to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.