Call The Midwife's Stephen McGann's role was almost cut after s1

Call the Midwife star Stephen McGann is an integral part of the show, with Dr Patrick Turner appearing in every series of the show so far, and showing no signs of going anywhere.

For McGann, playing Dr Turner is not just a role, as his wife Heidi Thomas is creator and writer of the show. But things could have turned out very differently, as the show was only expected to last for one series, and when it got renewed, he had prior commitments.

Speaking to Parade, the actor said: "My wife and I hadn't worked together for 25 years and I knew she was making this six-part show I knew as 'that midwife thing'. She was reading it in bed and felt she could do something with it.

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stephen mcgann as dr turner, call the midwife

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"I went back to university part-time, I was at the Imperial College of London, studying science communication, and studying these scientists in popular culture and my wife tells me she is casting the midwife show and they are looking for an actor to play the doctor.

"Heidi and the producer, Pippa Harris, asked me to come in and read for it, and I'm reminding her that I am a student and I have my dissertation coming up. They explain that it is a small part, which it was in series 1, and she promises to work around my schedule.

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"She said, 'Don't worry it's a six-parter with nuns and midwives in a convent in the 1950s and nobody is going to watch it.' So, I agreed... It virtually exploded. As it happened, everybody in Britain watched it. So, everything changed. I was still a university student in series 2 but managed to juggle both parts of my life."

Recently, the actor shared the very heartwarming story of how he first met his wife, explaining that it was indeed love at first sight when they met in the 1980s.

The couple married in 1990, and McGann added that "we're now at the stage where people break into spontaneous applause when we tell them how long we've been married".

Call the Midwife airs on BBC One.