Call the Midwife: Will there be a series 16 of popular BBC One series and when will it be back?
It's goodbye, but not for long!
Call the Midwife series 15 has come to a gut-wrenching conclusion, with the future of Nonnatus House and our favourite nuns and midwives uncertain – and fans have been left wondering about a series 16.
The finale (Sunday, March 08) said goodbye to one of the longest serving characters, and saw the closure of Nonnatus House. However there was a silver lining of sorts. The closure was only temporary. And good news came in the form of Cyril and Rosalind’s wedding, the return of Sister Veronica to The Order, and a change of fate for Trixie.
But has the popular BBC One series ended? Is there a series 16 of Call the Midwife, and when can we watch it? Here’s everything we know.
Has Call the Midwife ended?
No Call the Midwife has NOT ended. Far from it, in fact. The beloved period drama will be back, just not as soon as you’d like.
The BBC announced that the main show will continue to be a huge part of the channel’s programming. A statement last year said: “We would like to reassure fans that Call the Midwife will remain at the heart of the BBC for years to come.
“As previously announced, there will be a new series, a film and a prequel series. A 16th series will arrive in due course. Call the Midwife isn’t going anywhere.”
Will there be a Call the Midwife series 16?
Yes, there will be a series 16 of Call the Midwife, but fans will have to wait a little while. Filming for the main series is currently on hold as they concentrate on a film and a prequel.
When it comes, it will once again be written by an all-female team. Show-runner Heidi Thomas and executive producers Pippa Harris and Ann Tricklebank will helm the next instalment of the main show.
Speaking of the Call the Midwife franchise, Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, said: “Call the Midwife has been a jewel in the BBC’s crown for well over a decade. This feels like the perfect time to further expand the perfectly realised world that Heidi, Pippa, and Annie have created.
“Whether you’ve been watching from the very start or joined us for one of the more recent series, this is an incredibly exciting time to be a Call the Midwife fan.”
We know that Call the Midwife series 16 will take place in 1973. This is two years after the events of series 15. The upcoming movie will pick up where series 15 finishes in 1972. Show bosses have announced that the Call the Midwife film will take place overseas… That makes sense considering the ending, in which Sister Julienne spoke of working abroad for a year.
Is there a Call the Midwife Christmas special in 2026?
There won’t be a Christmas special in 2026 – not in the traditional mould, anyway. Instead, there will be a “very temporary halt” in the usual pattern. That basically means that although we won’t get a Call the Midwife Christmas special, we WILL get a festive launch of the new prequel series.
Creator and writer Heidi Thomas has said: “I don’t think any other show has produced a Christmas special for as many years as we have. This is a lovely opportunity to press pause and come back with even more exciting things.”
Heidi added that the prequel will make its debut at Christmas 2026 to replace the traditional Call the Midwife festive episode. She added: “We are going to make the prequel next. There will be more news about that in the spring.”
Meanwhile, the film is already in preparation for preproduction. But in production terms, that will come after the prequel.
Call the Midwife series 16: When will show be back?
While the original Call the Midwife series is taking a hiatus, fans can expect a prequel series, and then a film. Chronologically, viewers will watch the prequel set in 1939 first, followed by the film set in 1972.
The prequel will star a whole new cast, whereas the film stars the current cast.
The very next time you will see the series will be the prequel landing in December 2026. As for the cast of the original Call the Midwife, they’ll be back in a film in 2027.
When is the Call the Midwife prequel set?
The new Call the Midwife prequel will delve into life as a midwife in Poplar during the Second World War. And we suspect it will kick off with a Christmas special in 2026, and a series in early 2027.
Producers announced the prequel in May 2025, revealing the series will be set in Poplar during the Blitz in 1939. We will see some of our Nonnatus House favourites as their younger selves, navigating bringing babies into the world as bombs drop on London.
We know that a younger version of Judy Parfitt’s Sister Monica Joan will be the focus of the upcoming prequel. Series creator Heidi Thomas confirmed the three lead characters would also follow the younger versions of Sisters Julienne and Evangelina, played by Jenny Agutter and Pam Ferris in the original show. Younger actresses, as yet unnamed, will be playing the characters.
Show-runner Heidi Thomas and executive producers Pippa Harris and Ann Tricklebank will write, create and produce the prequel.
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Everything we know about the Call the Midwife film ahead of series 16
The feature film is set in 1972, directly after series 15 of Call the Midwife ended. Bosses have confirmed that they will film the Call the Midwife movie in Australia, and are due to start any day now.
Series creator, Heidi Thomas, said: “Australia is likely, I can say that. But there are a number of places in Australia that it could be, all of which would be very different.
“Filming the Christmas 2025 episodes abroad was a dry run for the movie. We learned how to work in high temperatures for one!”
Producers have confirmed that most of the current Call the Midwife cast will be featuring in the film.
Read more: Top-tier dramas returning in 2026: From Doctor Foster to Sherwood and The Night Manager
