When members of the Call the Midwife cast were in Hong Kong filming this year’s Christmas special — in which a group from Nonnatus House travel there on a mercy mission after a terrible tragedy — it wasn’t just the heat and humidity that proved challenging.
They were all forced indoors for a period when a typhoon rolled in.
“We were warned there would be a typhoon, strength six, and nobody batted an eyelid,” said creator and writer Heidi Thomas. “That’s relatively common in Hong Kong.
“But then [producer] Annie Tricklebank and I were on set on a street, and we kept getting phone alerts saying it’s gone up to a seven, it’s gone up to an eight. And by the time it got to Friday night, we were told it would be a 10, and we had to stay in the hotel with the curtains drawn and not to venture outside.
“So we all went down into the basement and had dim sum.”
Annabelle Apsion, who plays businesswoman and mayor of Tower Hamlets Violet Buckle, said they could “see things being blown down the streets” from the safety of their hotel, while others noted that several trees had been torn down, such was the force of the wind.
“They said not to open the curtains of the hotel in case anything hit the window,” Sister Julienne star Jenny Agutter told the BBC. “But we were facing the water, so there was little chance. Of course, I had a jolly good look outside because it was rather amazing seeing all the water whipped up.”
Agutter also revealed that she did briefly pop outside, even though they’d been instructed not to, to capture it for “Danny [Laurie] because he wanted to see what it was like to be in a typhoon”.
But thankfully, they weren’t due to film when the weather took a turn, meaning time was still on their side.
“We had a very tight schedule, but we weren’t due to shoot on the Saturday and Sunday — and that’s when the storm hit,” added Thomas, though the aftermath still affected production
“You [gestures to Laura Main, who plays Shelagh Turner] and Steve [McGann, who plays Dr Tuner] had to play a scene in wellies, because you were nearly up to your knees,” she said.
“Somebody quickly sourced Wellington boots,” said Main. “I think we’ve got a photograph, and they’re about that big [gestures], and we’re waddling and holding up umbrellas while going through these narrow alleyways.”
But the magic of production means you won’t see any of that on camera, added Main.
When they weren’t shooting – or sheltering from the typhoon – the cast were able to explore their new surroundings, with Rebecca Gethings (Sister Veronica) acting as the designated “head of sightseeing”.
“On my free days, I got to see the other side of Hong Kong,” Agutter told the BBC. The hills, the beaches, the ocean. It was completely different to the built-up, lit-up commercial centre. I kind of fell in love with all of that.”
And some of the cast even found time to enjoy a spot of partying. When in Hong Kong…
“We were invited by one of the cast members who was based out there to a house party,” said Gethings. “But we were aware that the storm was coming in, and we had to be back by midnight.
“And of course with all our lovely cast members, it was like having a load of mums going, ‘Are you in yet?”
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In this year’s Call the Midwife festive double bill, Violet and Fred travel to Hong Kong to visit her son, where they learn that the Branch House in Kowloon has collapsed and there are multiple fatalities.
“A rescue mission is hastily organised, and a team from Nonnatus make emergency plans to head out,” reads the official synopsis.
Meanwhile, “Cyril receives an unexpected request” from a visitor. At the same time, “Rosalind and Joyce host a Christmas gathering” and Sister Catherine “gets involved in a case with two mums-to-be who are Irish travellers and living in a camp”.
Call the Midwife will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.
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