CALL THE MIDWIFE: INTERVIEW WITH FENELLA WOLLGER

Call The Midwife returns this weekend on BBC One. Here's a press interview, courtesy of BBC Media Centre.

INTERVIEW WITH FENELLA WOLLGER (SISTER HILDA)

Where is Sister Hilda as this series kicks off?

"At the beginning of series ten, she is quite keen on upgrading the habit for the nuns. Given that Catholic nuns at the time were absolutely going for knee-length skirts and cardigans, she's a bit of a reformer, a bit of a modernist. But does it go her way?"

Can you give us any more hints about what we can expect from Sister Hilda this year?

"We've established that she can be quite bossy and slightly on the front foot. That's occasionally extremely successful and sometimes not so successful. But I think she is definitely one of those people who wants to get more involved. So she does have a little bit more responsibility towards the end of this series. She anticipates that it will be a very enjoyable thing to have more power, but it might not go quite as well as she'd hoped…"

What have you relished most about being in Call the Midwife?

"The thing I've really enjoyed about being part of this show is that it's really like joining a family because they're just a lovely bunch of people. So many of the crew have been here for such a very long time and everyone's incredibly friendly. We're massively supported by production. And although that's mostly true for everything you do in this industry, occasionally it's not. So that's why people stay for quite a while because they are just lovely people to be around."

What else have you enjoyed?

"I've loved working with some extremely good actors. I really get on with all of them. For instance, I'm a big Linda Bassett fan, but it's also really nice to discover that she can get the giggles as well, so I very much enjoy that. We got the giggles on set slightly during the Christmas episode. So just little things like that. It was also really nice to start on the show with the lovely Ella Bruccoleri. It was great to join the show with somebody else as we had each other."

Does it feel special to be involved in the tenth anniversary series of Call the Midwife?

"Yes. It feels pretty amazing to be part of a show that has been running for ten years. Obviously, a decade is an unusual thing in this industry, and it’s pretty cool to be part of that. I feel a bit jealous that I wasn't in it at the very beginning because I think it's really exciting being part of something from the very start. I think that feels so different. But it still feels like a really big achievement to get to ten years and to be so loved and supported by the public. It's also a big achievement to film at all in what has been a really extraordinarily strange year. So yes, it feels great to be part of that."