Sounds Familiar

“There are between 80 and 100 babies born each month in Poplar. Soon as one vacates its pram, another one takes its place. And thus it was and ever shall be, until such time as they invent a magic potion to put a stop to it.” – Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt), CALL THE MIDWIFE

Where Do I Know That Actor?

Since CALL THE MIDWIFE is back for a twelfth year, I thought I’d take a quick look at who’s who in the cast. I think I’ve done this series before but some of the actors have come and gone in twelve seasons, so it’s a good time for a refresher.

As you may know, CALL THE MIDWIFE is a BBC period drama about a group of nurse midwives working during the 1950s and 1960s. Set at the a nursing convent Nonnatus House, the midwives tackle issues of the day and cope with medical problems in the deprived Poplar district of London’s desperately poor East End. Note: I’m dealing with actors on the current series, so anyone who appears on earlier seasons may not be listed.

To start, Vanessa Redgrave appears as the voice of Mature Jenny. An acclaimed actor, Redgrave has appeared on stage and screen in dozens of roles during her 65-year career. Surprisingly, not a ton of work that’s been seen on PBS. However, she did play Flora Berryman in Man In An Orange Shirt and Sarah Cloyce in the PBS anthology series American Playhouse.

Linda Bassett is Phyllis Crane. She’s been seen as Malka Rosen in Spies of Warsaw, Queenie in Lark Rise to Candleford, Mrs. Jennings in Sense & Sensibility and Rachel Lithgow in Traffik.

Wednesday Trivia Question

What was Frank Butcher’s middle name on EASTENDERS?

With the news that EASTENDERS is going away, I thought I’d give it a send off with some trivia questions. So we’ll cover the minutiae of Albert Square over the next few weeks.

Frank Butcher. Longtime EASTENDERS fans know that name well. Businessman. Conman. Charmer. Scoundrel. You could describe the character in many ways. He was onetime landlord of the Queen Vic. He owned the used car lot. He ran the B&B. He was father to Ricky, Janine, Clare and Diane. And his romance and marriage to Pat is the stuff of Walford legend. He also had a relationship with Peggy Mitchell and was responsible for killing her son Grant’s wife, Tiffany. Basically: Soap opera gold.