Coronation Street icon to star in Call the Midwife prequel
Julie Hesmondhalgh, who is best known for appearing in Coronation Street, is to appear in a newly-announced Call the Midwife prequel, Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms.
Coronation Street icon Julie Hesmondhalgh is to star in a Call the Midwife prequel.
The 56-year-old actress - who is best known for playing Hayley Cropper in the ITV soap - will portray Sister Alice in the newly-announced series Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms, which set in Poplar during World War Two.
Sisters in Arms will be narrated by Jenny Agutter, as the older Sister Julienne.
Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas said: "Having loved and lived with the Sisters of Nonnatus House for so many years, I found myself longing to turn the clock back and tell the story of their finest hour - the Blitz.
"Who were Sister Monica Joan, Sister Julienne, and Sister Evangelina, when they were young? What did they do, how did they survive, and how did the conflict change them?
"Above all else, Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms is about what happens when women go to war. It is about love and birth, separation and courage, lipstick and nylons (or the lack thereof). But it is also a medical drama, set in a devastating landscape where even the nurses cannot know if they will live till morning.
"I thought I had cried all my tears when Sister Monica Joan died, at the end of Call the Midwife’s 15th series. But the thought of her back on her bike, cycling through an air raid, set me off again, as did images of young Sister Julienne shaking when the sirens sound, and Fred Buckle still in his 20s, black with soot and sweat as a volunteer fireman. Then I'd be laughing at Sister Evangelina, in her element as an Air Raid Warden, or the juvenile Dr Turner turning up at a dance and being shy with girls."
The series is set in September 1939 when Sister Monica Joan is in her prime, Sister Julienne and Sister Evangelina are young and zealous, and Nonnatus House is the beating heart of Poplar.
Doctor Who star Amy Booth-Steel will take on the role of Sister Evangelina, Helen Schlesinger will portray Sister Monica Joan, and Helena Wilson is to appear as Sister Julienne.
Dr Kit Malhotra is played by Bally Gill, Martin McCann guest stars as Tommy Moffat, and Rachel O'Connell as his wife Mary.
Marianne Siegler is played by Liv Andrusier, Sybil Maxted will be portrayed by Lizzie Back, and Olive Dobbs by Hijack star Ellie Mckay.
What's more, Ciaran Bowling stars as Fred Buckle and Ami Metcalf will portray his wife Betty, while Ben Rose will be a young Dr Patrick Turner.
Filming is underway for the three-part Christmas special, which will be helmed by the current Call the Midwife creative team - showrunner Heidi with executive producers Pippa Harris and Ann Tricklebank.
Heidi added: "Sisters in Arms has been a joy to write - like returning to the family home and finding all the people I have ever loved made young again and filled with new energy.
"I can't wait to start filming and look forward to sharing our new show with Call the Midwife’s fantastic fans."
