Call the Midwife Christmas special 2025: Death and destruction cause chaos as the Nonnatus House team head to Hong Kong
The Call the Midwife Christmas special 2025 is heading abroad...
Call the Midwife is back with not one but two Christmas specials for 2025. And, as always, there will be plenty of drama amid the festive celebrations in Poplar this year.
The BBC One period drama will return to our screens with series 15 in January 2026. But, before that, we have two specials to look forward to, which are always the jewels in the BBC’s Christmas crown.
As a special festive treat for fans, this year’s specials will be heading abroad.
It has been revealed that senior members of Nonnatus House will head to Hong Kong on a mercy mission. But don’t worry, there will still be plenty of drama in Poplar when the younger midwives are left in London to cope alone.
Here is everything you need to know about the Call the Midwife Christmas special 2025…
Is there a Call the Midwife Christmas special 2025?
Yes, there are actually two festive episodes this year, just like we had in 2024.
Last year, the series changed from the traditional 90-minute Christmas episode to two one-hour offerings. This year will be the same, with the series picking up shortly after where series 14 ended.
The last series saw romance blossom between Cyril and Rosalind as they spent more time together. Will they get to enjoy their first Christmas as a couple without any drama?
Series 14 also saw Nancy and Roger get married on the same day as welcoming a daughter into the world. It has been revealed that Nancy has left Poplar to live with Roger, along with their new baby girl and Nancy’s eldest daughter, Colette. Could someone new be heading to Nonnatus House to replace her?
What is the plot for the festive special?
With the senior staff on a mercy mission in Hong Kong, there will be a different feel to this year’s yuletide offering.
As Fred and Violet head to Hong Kong to visit her son, Derek, they soon find that death and destruction have hit after a devastating building collapse at the Mother House. Soon, Doctor Turner, Shelagh, Sister Julienne, Sister Veronica and Nurse Crane head to Hong Kong to join them on a mercy mission.
Once there, the team discover nuns and orphans are among the injured. But it’s not just finding medical supplies and abandoned babies that the team faces – there is also an outbreak of tuberculosis and terrifying triads to contend with.
Meanwhile, Doctor Turner and Shelagh try to track down May’s birth mother, Esther, in the Walled City, but soon unearth an underground crime network that leaves them with an impossible decision to make.
Speaking of filming in the usually sun-drenched Far East, show creator Heidi Thomas said: “We were hit with a typhoon while filming, but the cast and crew were back on set the following day. The water was up to their knees, and some of the scenes were filmed in wellies!”
What is happening in Poplar?
We will also still be getting a traditional Call the Midwife Christmas we all know and love, as the younger staff from Nonnatus House stay at home to spend the festive period in snowy Poplar.
Back in London, Trixie and Geoffrey find an elderly man, Mr Fischer, lying in the snow. They walk him home and discover he has a terminal blood disorder. As his health declines, Sister Monica Joan visits, as she remembered delivering his sibling in the same flat. But will she be able to bring him comfort in his final hours?
Also in Poplar, Rosalind and Joyce host a Christmas gathering with their friends and colleagues. One treat you must watch out for is seeing Timothy, Geoffrey and Harry as we have never seen them before!
Who is in the cast for the Call the Midwife Christmas specials 2025?
The Call the Midwife favourites are all back for the Christmas specials. Trixie Franklin, played by Helen George, will return for the Christmas episodes and season 15, along with Jenny Agutter as Sister Julienne and Linda Bassett as Nurse Phyllis Crane.
Rebecca Gethings will return to her role as Sister Veronica. Georgie Glen will play Miss Higgins once again, and Judy Parfitt is back as Sister Monica Joan. In addition, Sister Hilda, played by Fenella Woolgar, will also return for the new series.
Midwives Joyce Highland, played by Renee Bailey, and Rosalind Clifford, played by Natalie Quarry, are also returning.
Doctor Turner, played by Stephen McGann, and his family are back, including his wife, Shelagh Turner, played by Laura Main, and their son, Timothy Turner, portrayed by Max Macmillan. Alice Brown is also back as Angela Turner, April Rae Hoang as May Tang and Edward Shaw as Teddy Turner.
Cliff Parisi returns as Fred Buckle, along with Annabelle Apsion as Violet Buckle and Daniel Laurie as Reggie Jackson and Zephryn Taitte as Cyril Robinson.
Last series also saw The Rig star Molly Vevers join the cast as Sister Catherine. Sister Catherine is a studious Scottish postulant who took her vows as a nun in the final episode of series 14. She is training to be a midwife and will be back for the new episodes.
Trixie’s lovable brother, Geoffrey, played brilliantly by Christopher Harper, is also back to bring some lighthearted moments to the show.
Eisa Latif, who plays Miss Higgins’ grandson, Harry, is also back for the festive special.
When are the Call the Midwife Christmas specials?
The BBC has announced that this year’s specials will be shown on Christmas Day and Boxing Day – the same as last year.
The first episode will air on December 25th at 8.15 pm on BBC One. The second will air on December 26th at 8.30 pm, also on BBC One.
Both episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer after they have aired if you need to catch up.
Read more: BBC Christmas 2025 TV Preview
