Sisters In Arms Filming Wraps for Call The Midwife Prequel

Filming has wrapped on Sisters In Arms, a new Call The Midwife prequel series starring former Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh. A first look photo shows the 56-year-old posing with a clapperboard as nun Sister Alice alongside Helena Wilson, who plays a young Sister Julienne.

The three-part Christmas special will hit screens later this year on the BBC. The cast also features Ellie McKay as Olive Dobbs, Liv Andrusier as Marianne Siegler and Lizzie Back as Sybil Maxted.

Second World War backdrop

Set in 1939 at the start of the Second World War, Sisters In Arms follows nurse-midwives and nuns attempting to serve their community during difficult circumstances. The drama explores the beginnings of Nonnatus House in Poplar and follows the earlier years of Sister Julienne, Sister Monica Joan, played by Helen Schlesinger, and Sister Evangelina, played by Amy Booth-Steel.

Show creator Heidi Thomas explained earlier this year why she wanted to expand the Call The Midwife world. She 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."

Thomas asked: "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?"

She added: "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."

Filming for the prequel series began in June this year, three months after the main show went on hiatus. The premiere is expected to air on Christmas Day.

Main show hiatus and storyline shifts

Series 15 of Call The Midwife concluded in March with fan favourite Sister Monica Joan, played by Judy Parfitt, dying from chronic kidney disease. Before her death, she was visited by loved ones, while the spirit of Sister Evangelina appeared by her bedside.

The finale brought several major story developments, including the closure of the Maternity Home and the marriage of Cyril and Rosalind. Nurse Trixie also left her job after taking a majority share in The Lady Emily Private clinic.

The future of Nonnatus House was left uncertain amid NHS modernisations. Sister Julienne announced that the nuns will likely take on overseas missions as their home turns into a place of prayer and charity.

The main drama will not return for a few years while Heidi Thomas works on the prequel series and a feature film.

Cast reactions to filming break

Speaking to Radio Times ahead of the final episode earlier this year, Helen George, who plays Nurse Trixie Aylward, reflected on the break in production. She said: "We've all been saying that we'll feel it most in April because that's when we usually start filming. So when that comes around and we don't, we won't have the support network and community that work has given us."

George noted: "Apart from that first year, we've always known at the end of filming that we'd see each other again." Co-star Laura Main, who plays nurse Shelagh Turner, added: "Even that first year, we found out after the second episode that the show would be coming back. We've had rare and lovely stability for 15 years. We've never had to be upset at the end before."

George concluded: "And it is just a pause because we know it's coming back. But it won't be the same, with different characters leaving and whatever."