The recent Call the Midwife Christmas special had its share of highs and lows. Unfortunately, we discovered immediately at the opening of the episode that Fenella Woolgar, who portrayed Sister Hilda, had been fired from the program. Viewers also saw the reappearance of Nurse Trixie Franklin and her engagement with Matthew. While these events were exciting for fans, the departures of Fenella Woolgar and Ella Bruccoleri, who portray Sister Frances, were heartbreaking.
Sister Hilda’s departure was discreet and unobtrusive, in contrast to what occurred to Sister Frances. Fans will really miss the endearing nurses at Nonnatus House in Poplar. Let’s take a deeper look at Fenella Woolgar’s life and career as Sister Hilda on Call the Midwife.
Always watch the credits! It’s how I ID’d audiobook fave Fenella Woolgar as Sister Hilda. Such a likable character… and voice! pic.twitter.com/QnHpl1AHaX
— Heather Booth (@Booklist_Audio) January 18, 2020
A quick overview of Fenella Woolgar’s life and career.
Fenella Woolgar is an English film, theater, television, and radio actress who was born on August 4, 1969. Her parents, Michael and Maureen, raised her in the West London borough of Hillingdon. She is half Irish and spent her childhood in New Canaan, Connecticut, USA. Woolgar attended Mayfield School and Durham University before pursuing a degree at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art).
She directed Murder in the Cathedral at Durham Cathedral while still in university, and she also wrote and performed comedy in The Durham Revue. Woolgar made her debut in Bright Young Things in 2003 as Agatha, for which she got multiple nominations. She went on to star in Vera Drake, Mr. Turner, The Veil, Scoop, and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. She is perhaps best recognized for her depiction of Agatha Christie in Doctor Who in 2008, in which she co-starred with David Tennant. In 2010, she played Dr. Sofia Lamb, the antagonist in the computer game Bioshock. She played Alison Scotlock in Home Fires in 2014 and 2015. In 2018, she was cast as Sister Hilda in Call the Midwife.
Throughout her career, she has received and been nominated for several accolades in theater, cinema, and television. She received the Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actress in the West End in 2013. The next year, she was named Stage Performance of the Year. She most recently won the prize for Celebrity Portrait Artist of the Year in 2019. Aside from that, she has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress multiple times. She was nominated for Best Actress at the BBC Radio Drama Awards in 2013.
What is the plot of Call the Midwife?
Call the Midwife is a television drama that follows the lives of a group of nurse midwives working in London’s East End in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
According to the show’s IMDB synopsis:
“Describes the life of a group of East London midwives from the late 1950s to the late 1960s.”
Call the Midwife, created by Heidi Thomas, has received widespread praise for its sensitive treatment of topics such as nationalized healthcare, infertility, teen pregnancy, adoption, the value of local community, miscarriage and stillbirths, abortion, unwanted pregnancies, birth defects, poverty, common illnesses, epidemic disease, racism, prejudice, and more.
