CALL The Midwife creator Heidi Thomas has revealed she rejected big-money deals with streamers to stay at the BBC.
It’s no surprise the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ all want a piece of her winning formula and she admits that the platforms contact her “constantly”.
She’s been at the helm of the much-loved drama for 15 years, sharing tearjerking stories of the Nonnatus House nurses, midwives and nuns as they care for the poor East London community.
Pulling in millions of viewers, with a stellar cast including Helen George, Jenny Agutter and Cliff Parisi, it’s a fixture of the Christmas telly calendar.
But she says she’s chosen to stick with the “solid” BBC rather than its flashy competitors.
“I get wonderful opportunities but this is the best opportunity I have ever had,” she explains. “Why would I give it up for something that is a shot in the dark?
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“The streamers don’t necessarily give anybody the same platform. It’s all a puff in the dark.
“Anything on a streamer comes like a firework and vanishes like a firework. This is solid. It’s a building, we’ve built it from the ground up.”
Even the big bucks can’t tempt Heidi. “Money can’t be my driving force,” she says.
“The fact I’m still doing the show for the BBC is testament to that. It’s not about money, it’s about values.”
The beleaguered BBC has come under intense scrutiny recently following scandals involving the Donald Trump episode of Panorama, Strictly Come Dancing and MasterChef, but Heidi insists she couldn’t imagine a better home for Call The Midwife. “I love the fact we are a BBC show,” she beams.
“The BBC gives us a not unreasonable budget to work with. We put every penny on to the screen. It does feel tight. What you make out of not having enough time or money is a jewel.”
And that’s exactly what they’ve created with their two-part Christmas special.
Senior members of the Nonnatus House team travel to Hong Kong on a mercy mission after a devastating building collapse, while the younger midwives remain in Poplar.
While filming overseas, the cast and crew were hit by a typhoon.
Advised to seek safety in their hotel rooms, a few threw caution to the wind and went out to party.
Rebecca Gethings, who plays Sister Veronica, was one of them.
“We were invited to a house party by one of the cast members that was based out there but we were aware that the storm was coming in and we had to be back by midnight,” she revealed.
“With all our lovely cast members, it was like having loads of mums going, ‘Are you in?’”
Fans will no doubt be blown away by the special festive episodes, which see the nuns battle tuberculosis and terrifying triads in China.
And back home we see Timothy (Max MacMillan), Geoffrey (Christopher Harper) and Harry (Eisa Latif) as we’ve never seen them before.
- Watch it on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
LIFE’S A BEACH FOR FRED
JUST as the nights get darker and colder, Fred Sirieix is back to heat things up with some much-needed sun, sea, and, er, dating.
Everyone’s favourite Frenchman returns to Channel 4 on December 15 at 9pm with First Dates Beach Club.
As the name suggests, it’s very similar to First Dates, but this time it’s set in a beach club, which gives it all a bit of a Love Island vibe.
Singletons filmed the series over the summer at a location on the Mediterranean. It’s another extension to the show’s universe, which also includes First Dates Hotel, which saw Fred run the first series in his French homeland before it relocated to Italy.
The new Beach Club spin-off will air over four nights from December 18.
It will then will return in the New Year with double episodes on January 4 and 5, then January 11 and 12.
CAPTURE BACK ON HOLLIDAY
HERE’S a first look at Holliday Grainger reprising her role as cop Rachel Carey in the upcoming third series of The Capture.
The image shows her inside a police interrogation room, which is likely to feature heavily when the BBC One espionage thriller returns next year.
Series three sees Rachel installed as Acting Commander of Counter Terrorism Command – and she is tasked with regaining the public’s trust in surveillance technology.
But soon she has a terror attack to deal with – one that targets the heart of the establishment.
The Beeb has teased that Rachel will be: “Drawn into an unfolding geopolitical crisis that infects the British political establishment, the security services and the media.”
Blimey.
GAME ITV HAVING A BALL
JUST days after I revealed ITV was poised to axe gameshow The Fortune Hotel, the channel has its eyes on another new format.
Bosses are working on a version of hit Dutch show Let’s Play Ball, where rival teams of comedians go head to head in a race to transport a gigantic ball across various terrains – whilst also spewing out one-liners.
It’s thought the series, which is in early development with Big Brother and MasterChef producers Banijay, could see the huge ball take to UK landmarks such as London’s Tower Bridge or Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.
It comes after ITV took on The Box, a format that has been a hit in Norway.
TAXI FOR CORRIE’S CHAN
CORONATION Street star Channique Sterling-Brown won’t be getting a spectacular send-off when she leaves Weatherfield.
Soap bosses have chosen for the actress to exit the famous cobbles in the back of a black cab, I can reveal.
Channique, 28, told bosses she was leaving earlier this year to “pursue other opportunities” and her exit scenes will go out next month.
She joined Corrie three years ago and after just a year in the role she won the Best Newcomer gong at the British Soap Awards.
But the show’s writers have decided to give her character Dee-Dee Bailey a low-key exit – one where she is tempted to leave because of a job offer elsewhere.
DOC MARTIN actor Martin Clunes will guest host the final episode of the current 70th series of Have I Got News For You.
The appearance at 9pm on December 12 on BBC One and iPlayer, will be his 22nd time on the programme and his 17th as guest host.
Comedian Phil Wang will be one of the guest panellists.
NETFLIX’s deep dive into the scandals of Diddy will land on the streamer on December 2.
The four-parter is called Sean Combs: The Reckoning and has been exec produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Netflix say the series is a staggering examination of the media mogul, music legend, and convicted offender.
