The medic attempts to launch a healthcare initiative when he gets some sad news...
Dr Turner has lots to deal with both personally and professionally in this Sunday’s episode of Call the Midwife.
In the penultimate episode, he and his wife, Shelagh (Laura Main), invite Poplar residents to a party at their home. But there’s more to the event than drinks and canapés, as he tells guests he wants to set up a Brook Advisory Centre in Poplar, offering young women advice on contraception and dealing with unwanted pregnancies.
However, it looks like the new initiative might never get off the ground when Violet Buckle (Annabelle Apsion), the local councillor, raises vital questions about who will pay for it.
“When it comes to funding, the NHS was probably in its peak glory in the 1960s, in terms of services available in relation to the size of the population,” explains Call the Midwife star Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Turner. “But the NHS has never been perfect and, even back then, people always argued about the best way to apportion the money.”
Meanwhile, the Turners have mixed feelings when a letter arrives from the adoption agency. It confirms that May, the Chinese orphan they fostered at Christmas, is now finally able to join her new adoptive family.
But the news doesn’t go down well with the couple’s kids, Timothy, Angela and Teddy, and, least of all, May…
“May has had a huge impact on the Turners and their kids; they’ve all really bonded,” says Stephen. “This news causes a real emotional struggle. But Call the Midwife being the show it is, it was never going to be an easy road.
“The nicest thing to happen on set is that Alice [Brown], who plays Angela, and April [Rae Hoang], who plays May, became good friends. It’s so touching that these two girls bonded and brought each other out of their shells.”
Call the Midwife continues on BBC1 this Sunday at 8pm.
