‘Call the Midwife’: Molly Vevers Breaks Down Sister Catherine’s ‘Traumatic’ First Case

The compassionate midwives and devoted nuns of Nonnatus House are back as Season 15 of Call the Midwife gets underway, and the premiere immediately puts their skills, faith, and resolve to the test with one of the most heartbreaking cases they have ever faced.

The season opens in the spring of 1971, as Britain transitions to decimal currency and the Women’s Liberation Movement gains momentum, all set against the backdrop of Pancake Day, blending personal stories with sweeping cultural change.

Rosalind (Natalie Quarry) is inspired after helping a new mother who is involved in the Women’s Lib Movement and begins attending meetings with Trixie and Joyce (Helen George and Renee Bailey). As the women share stories about the challenges they have faced, many decide to join a local march and strike, leaving the men of Poplar scrambling to handle cooking, ironing, and running the household. The episode ends with the women gathering to symbolically burn their bras in a bonfire.

Meanwhile, the midwives uncover a troubling case involving the Kingsley family. After Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett) finds the children dirty, hungry, and neglected while both parents lie passed out, Dr. Turner and social services intervene. Investigations reveal their previously deceased child had suspicious injuries, and when their youngest daughter is hospitalized with fractures after a fall, there are signs she may have been drugged. The police arrest Ian Kingsley for cruelty to children.

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The episode also marks Sister Catherine’s (Molly Vevers) first solo case as a fully qualified midwife when patient Thelma Cutler (guest star Izzy Meikle-Small) goes into premature labor at just 28 weeks after months of debilitating nausea. Catherine rushes the fragile infant to Nonnatus House before he is transferred to the hospital. Though the baby boy, later named James, survives, Thelma struggles to bond with him after the traumatic birth until Catherine helps her find her way.

As each member tries to find their place in this new era, it is Sister Catherine’s story that resonates most in the episode. On her first solo mission, she is thrust into a crisis and must find the strength not only to carry on, but to help a young mother bond with her baby after tremendous trauma.

Speaking to TV Insider, Molly Vevers explained the thought process behind the character, her motivations, and what the experience meant for Sister Catherine.

“She begins Episode 1 with so much hope and excitement. She finally passed, and she’s excited that she can go out on her own, and she’s now in control…and then for it to go so wrong and in such a kind of traumatic emergency,” explained Vevers. “I think, as anyone does when something goes really wrong, that she’s questioning herself: Is this my fault? Could I have done anything else? Is it because I didn’t do this that that happened? And you know, she’s kind of playing it in her mind quite obsessively.”

Neal Street Productions/Luke Ross

“But she does actually show a huge amount of strength through, and she’s able to take a breath, [and think], ‘OK, that’s happened. And now, what can I do to help?’ And then it’s about getting Thelma the help that she needs and helping her to bond with the baby,” she continued.

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“I suppose, even though it’s such a kind of horrific first case that she has, it’s also a huge learning moment for her, and it puts things into perspective,” explained the actress. “I think that sets her off on into her career, managing to get over that hurdle.”

Elsewhere, Trixie returns from America just as Nonnatus House faces a looming crisis as the convent-based nursing home falls under NHS supervision. Health officials reveal new NHS rules that may require the sisters to abandon their habits if they wish to remain in the system, forcing Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) to consider an uncertain future for the order.

Welcome back to Poplar. Welcome back to Nonnatus House. Welcome to the ’70s and welcome back to Call the Midwife. 

Call the Midwife, Season 15, Sundays, 9/8c, PBS and the PBS app