Call the Midwife season 13 episode 7 recap: is Trixie and Matthew's marriage over for good?

Matthew Aylward and Trixie Aylward in Call the Midwife season 13 episode 7
There's trouble in paradise for Matthew and Trixie. (Image credit: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney)

Call the Midwife season 13 episode 7 sees Matthew and Trixie's already fragile marriage hit another devastating setback. 

As well as Trixie and Matthew's marriage hitting the rocks, this season's penultimate episode also reveals a huge twist from Joyce's past and Rosalind deals with the toughest case in her career to date. 

Here's everything that happened in Call the Midwife season 13 episode 7... 

The episode opens with newly qualified Rosalind and Joyce putting on their new midwife uniform, ready for their first day in their new role. Everyone celebrates as the pair come down for breakfast in Nonnatus House, presenting them both with their new maroon cardigans. But that's not the only good news... Joyce has also been awarded the Violet Albany Prize, which is given to the East London midwife who qualifies with the highest marks in her exams - and to top it all off, there is a photographer from the Gazette there to take their photo for the special occasion.

But while Joyce celebrates, things are gloomy for Matthew and Trixie who are still struggling with their financial woes. As Matthew drops Trrixie off for work, he goes to see Sister Julienne and tries to convince her to sign a document transferring the ownership of Nonnatus House over to the Order before he is declared bankrupt and the decision is no longer his to make. 

However, Matthew's bad morning is about to get even worse when a bailiff comes to reclaim his car outside Nonnatus House without his consent. As the man tells him that the car is the property of Aylward Estates and so therefore being reclaimed, Matthew and Trixie are left red-faced as everyone watches on.  

Matthew Aylward (OLLY RIX) ,Trixie Aylward (HELEN GEORGE) in Call the Midwife season 13

Matthew is horrified when a bailiff comes and takes his car.  (Image credit: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney)

Meanwhile, as Rosalind and Nurse Crane hold a talk for young women working at a toy factory, they meet Alison Casey, a young mum-to-be who has been hiding her pregnancy from her work and mum at home.

However, Alison's clearly been hiding the fact she is having a baby for a long time because she soon goes into labour in the middle of the night and Miss Higgins finds her on the street and takes her straight to the maternity home. 

Still in complete denial about what is happening, Rosalind talks Alison through her labour and she gives birth to a baby boy, who she calls Martin. However, her mum is soon called and she is shocked that her daughter has managed to conceal a pregnancy for so long, but not as shocked as she is when Doctor Turner tells her that Alison has Syphilis, which has also been passed on to her newborn baby. 

Rosalind Clifford (NATALIE QUARRY),Alison Casey (GRACE DOHERTY) in Call the Midwife season 13

Alison is in denial about having a baby.  (Image credit: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney)

There is confusion about Alison and her baby when she tells Rosalind that she's never had a boyfriend, however, the penny drops when the teenager says if she has Syphilis then so will her mum, and it turns out that Alison has been abused by her stepfather, Stanley, for years.

With her mum refusing to properly acknowledge what her husband has been doing, Alison and her baby are taken in by a foster family, where the pair will make a fresh start.

Sister Julienne (JENNY AGUTTER)Trixie Aylward (HELEN GEORGE) in Call the Midwife season 13

Sister Julienne comforts a devastated Trixie.  (Image credit: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney)

Meanwhile, Joyce is shaken when a man calls the surgery asking for someone with the surname 'Warren'. Despite claiming she doesn't know of anyone with that name, Joyce is clearly spooked when her cousin then turns up at Nonnatus House to see her. 

Joyce puts on a front and pretends to be pleased to see him, but it is only when she walks him to the door for him to leave that the truth is revealed. Joyce's real name is Claudine Warren and Sylvester is her husband, who she fled from after he became violent and abusive.

Unfortunately for Joyce, Sylvester was able to track her down using the picture of her in the Gazette, and now he is demanding they get back together or he will tell everyone the truth about her past.

Putting Sylvester's threats to one side, Joyce goes to Gerri Godfrey's home for her first solo homebirth. It turns out to be a traumatic birth which Joyce handles brilliantly, but she is shocked to find Sylvester hanging around outside the patient's home where he blackmails her for money or he'll tell everyone that she has qualified for her midwifery exams under a false identity.

Sylvester Warren (BENJAMIN CAWLEY)Joyce Highland (RENEE BAILEY)Sister Monica Joan (JUDY PARFITT) in Call the Midwife season 13

Joyce is horrified to see a face from her past at Nonnatus House.  (Image credit: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney)

Things aren't any better for Trixie and Matthew as the episode continues. At first, it looks like their prayers might have been answered when Matthew remembers two warehouses he bought from a friend in New York under his name and not the Aylward Estate. 

Trixie is thrilled about the prospect of selling them and using the money to secure their future, but she is soon left upset when Mattew tells her that he wants to go into partnership with his friend Chester, who lives in New York, and that they should see a return on his investment in five years. 

Trixie is annoyed that he expects them to live off her nurse's wage for the next five years, and is further annoyed when Matthew admits he has already let Jonty's nanny go, a decision that Trixie thinks they should have made together. 

Trixie Aylward (HELEN GEORGE) in Call the Midwife season 13

Trixie is heartbroken when Matthew leaves for New York without her.  (Image credit: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney)

However, things only get worse when Matthew announces he is going to New York to secure his investment and that he is taking Jonty with him. He asks Trixie to go as well, but it is all too much too soon and she doesn't want to uproot her life in Poplar, so he leaves without her. 

They leave on heartbreaking terms, with both admitting that they still love one another, but their marriage clearly going in seperate directions for the both of them. 

Is this the end of the pair? Or is Trixie about to leave Poplar behind and follow Matthew and Jonty to New York?

The next episode of Call the Midwife season 13, which is the season finale, airs on Sunday, March 3 in the UK at 8pm on BBC One. All previous episodes are available on BBC iPlayer. 

In the US, season 13 will start on Sunday, March 17, 2024 on PBS.

Claire Crick
Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia. 

After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off

She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz! 

As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book.