Call the Midwife season 13 episode 1 is here and as always the new season opens with a cracker of an episode that sees everything from heartbreaking confessions to a gangster hostage situation. There's never a quiet moment in Poplar!
After the huge success of Call the Midwife season 12 and the Call the Midwife Christmas special 2023, we join our favorite team of community midwives in the spring of 1969, where they are welcoming new faces as four pupil midwives arrive at Nonnatus House. Two of them, Joyce Highland and Rosalind Clifford soon make themselves comfortable in their shared room, the same one that Nancy and Trixie used to share before Trixie married Matthew and Nancy moved into a room with her daughter, Collette.
Everyone at Nonnatus house tries to make the new residents welcome as they settle down for lunch together, but it seems the biggest challenge for the students isn't going to be getting used to Sister Monica Joan's tendency to offer words of wisdom, but instead getting their heads around riding a bike for work!
After a bit of help with their cycling thanks to Cyril and Fred, the new faces get to know their kit bags and are shown the ropes by Shelagh Turner. But nothing can prepare them for their first day on the job, especially Rosalind who is given the ultimate baptism of fire - but more on that later!
Meanwhile, Doreen Challis (played by comedy star Rosie Jones) arrives at the surgery to see Dr Turner, having concealed the fact she is pregnant from all her family apart from her sister. Dr Turner confirms Doreen's pregnancy but breaks the news she is a lot further along than she realised, and is just weeks away from giving birth.
Knowing she has to tell her mum, Doreen goes home to face the music, but Ada Challis is stunned that she is going to be a grandmother, not only because her daughter has cerebral palsy after complications at birth, but because she didn't even know she had a boyfriend.
Doreen introduces her mum to Graham, the family's piano tuner, and while Ada is fuming to start with, thinking Graham has taken advantage of her daughter, it soon becomes clear that he loves Doreen and they intend to get married.
Over at the maternity clinic, Joyce is getting to grips with her new job with the help of Nurse Crane. But when they meet mum-to-be Iris Melia they're concerned to see she has bruises on her arms.
Iris admits her husband can be heavy-handed after a stressful day at work, and he often takes his frustrations out on her. Joyce feels bad for not noticing sooner that the expectant mum was withdrawn, but Phyllis reassures her that those skills come with experience.
While things are looking up for Doreen as Graham proposes and they book their wedding, Miss Higgins makes a shocking discovery when she digs out Doreen's old medical file only to find out she was delivered by Sister Julienne as a baby.
Shelagh tells Sister Julienne about Doreen's arrival into the world and she is stunned, having no recollection of what must have been a traumatic delivery. Sister Julienne seeks answers from God, but in the end, it is Sister Monica Joan who offers her support and tells her that she needs to find the answers herself.
Knowing this means she needs to visit Doreen and Ada Challis, Sister Julienne braces herself for a tough conversation. However, she is pleasantly surprised when Ada reminisces about Doreen's traumatic arrival but in no way blames Sister Julienne for what happened, and instead thanks her for saving Doreen and making Ada a mother.
Sister Julienne is relieved that she has finally got the answers and reassurance that she was looking for, but there isn't much time to reflect because Doreen goes into labour and the baby is on the way.
As Doreen gets to St Cuthbert's for her delivery, Iris Melia has gone into labour at home, but her delivery is set to be nothing short of traumatic. Poor Iris is in the throws of labour while her gangster husband, Les, is more worried about his work as the police close in on him, shortly after the arrest of the Kray twins.
As Trixie and new midwife Rosalind arrive to help Iris things go from bad to worse when the gas and air machine breaks and they are forced to call Sister Veronica to bring a new one.
However, before Sister Veronica can get in the building, Iris asks Trixie to lock the doors so her husband can't get in, but he is worried about a drug stash he has hidden in the house and he shoots the bolts off the door, almost hitting Rosalind in the process. Rosalind bravely talks him down and allows him into the house to use the phone, but soon he has barricaded himself inside as the police arrive and he refuses to let Sister Veronica in with the gas and air.
Poor Iris is forced to give birth with no pain relief and gunshots ringing around her, and soon she delivers a baby girl. But this wouldn't be Call the Midwife without some drama, and the baby has a very short umbilical cord, meaning she isn't breathing properly when she is born. Trixie works her magic and soon the baby is crying, but there is still a stalemate between the police and Les... until Sister Veronica steps in and takes over the megaphone!
Shortly after giving birth, Iris has complications that see her losing a lot of blood, and it is up to Trixie to reason with Les, getting him to put the gun down and hand himself in to the police in a bid to save his wife and newborn daughter.
Thankfully he does, and is soon arrested as mother and baby are raced to hospital.
Poor Rosalind is traumatised after her dramatic day, but she is soon on the mend after Joyce and Nancy cheer her up, distracting her with a spring pram decorating contest they need to get ready for, organised by Reggie.
Matthew collects Trixie from the police station after she gives her statement about Les, and he is worried that her job as a community midwife is putting her in danger. He asks her to go back to private midwifery, but she refuses, reminding him that she loves her job very much.
Meanwhile, all ends well for Doreen, who is now mum to a healthy baby boy and as the pram contest gets underway, there is a feeling of happiness and hope settling over Poplar.
Call the Midwife season 13 is currently airing in the US Sundays on PBS.
In the UK, all episodes are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
