Call the Midwife officially confirms Sister Monica Joan's fate with devastating diagnosis
"We'll just have to love her as we always have, but a bit more carefully".
Fans of Call the Midwife have long worried about Sister Monica Joan, whose mental and physical health has steadily declined in recent seasons – and in the latest chapter, those fears escalate dramatically.
Swollen feet, a complete loss of appetite and near-total exhaustion spark increasingly worried glances from her friends, with Dr Turner ordering blood tests to get to the bottom of her latest bout of ill health. And in tonight's episode (Sunday 15 February), the results arrive: chronic kidney disease.
"I was hoping it was something that could be treated," he admits, as Sister Julienne observes that the illness "takes old people gently, but kindly".
"But it takes them," Dr Turner adds, suspecting the condition has developed suddenly rather than over a long period.
Sister Julienne then voices the question no one wants to ask: how long does she have?
Read more:
- Call the Midwife's Trixie makes painful admission about her marriage to Matthew
- Call the Midwife boss teases prequel cast – including new and original favourites
While Dr Turner cannot offer a precise timeline, he fears time is short. "Unless we can persuade her to accept what treatment there is, she'll progress to end-stage renal failure fairly quickly," he warns, as a sombre Nurse Crane vows to "love her as we always have, but a bit more carefully".
Yet Sister Monica Joan remains resistant to intervention. "Maybe I do not care to go on for a long time," she says, despite Nurse Crane's reassurance that her time is not yet up. Without treatment, though, the prognosis is bleak.
The storyline follows comments from creator Heidi Thomas, who told Radio Times that season 15 "brings an era to an end" – strongly hinting that this will mark the character's final chapter.
Reflecting on the theme of change at the Radio Times Covers Party 2026, Thomas said: "I've had a lot of these stories in mind for a long time, and change has generated so many of our stories over the past few years.
"I’m not quite sure what I would do if things weren’t changing. The whole point is, it’s about change and challenge — and the series itself looks to the future, so it very much brings an era to an end."
While she described the transition as feeling "organic", she also admitted it has been deeply emotional.
"I think we’ve all cried our eyes out at different times because things never will be the same again," she said. "But the whole thing with Call the Midwife, like life itself, it's a process of constant evolution for our characters and also for the stories."
Thomas also singled out the season 15 finale, describing it as "both hard to write and beautiful to write".
"Many of the things that I depict in that episode I have experienced in life, so it felt strangely personal," she explained. "But I think the driving thing was to do a really good job. We're only getting the chance to wrap up this iteration once, and it has to be done to the highest possible standard.
"So it's hard and it's very emotional — not because it's sad, but because it's beautiful."
And Thomas isn't the only one feeling the impact of the season. In an interview with Radio Times magazine, Judy Parfitt – now 90 and part of the show since its very beginning – admitted that filming the latest block proved particularly demanding, both physically and emotionally.
"I have to be a character and inhabit them," she said. "I can't act any other way. I can't be external and watch myself. In these episodes, I'm playing scenes there's no way I can leave behind. It's been horrendous, on occasion. For an actor, a vivid imagination is wonderful to have – and hell to live with."
She then went on to talk about just how much she's loved spending time with the character all these years: "I've always wanted to play a nun because I was educated by nuns – and I loved Monica Joan's character. The way she was written as quirky and offbeat was a joy; she spoke in a different way from everybody else, which is hell to learn. People come to her for advice but she’s also highly strung, very sensitive. If she's thrown off-course, she loses the plot.
"Having all that to play was wonderful. I don't know what I'll do without her, actually."
Call the Midwife season 15 continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday at 8pm.
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.
Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
