Nurse Jenny Lee has a new man at last!
Yes and I can’t wait to see a softer side to Jenny because she can be bossy and quite moral and prim. There are snogging scenes, but they’re never romantic because you never really think of your colleague in that way – it’s a bit weird.
We hear it takes the ladies two hours to get ready in hair and make-up…
I’m an hour; I don’t have a perm this year which is good because the very first year I had the most horrendous perm and it was my sister’s wedding; I was like, “Really, we’re going to have these pictures for the rest of our lives?!” The make-up truck is the best place to be because you can have a cup of tea and a gossip for an hour while someone makes you look alive at 5.30am.
The first year I had the most horrendous perm
How have you found the fame that’s come with doing Call The Midwife?
Nothing can prepare you for it, but most of the people that do come up to me are genuinely fans of the show. I get people coming up to me and saying, “I know you!” It is strange. Sometimes you get a bit flustered by it.
Is it difficult to just go shopping?
No, not at all because I look very different when I’m not being Nurse Jenny. My hair is very straight and I don’t particularly dress in a 50’s fashion, so often people recognise my face but they can’t really place it.
How has it been working with all the babies on set?
I love working with the babies because hanging around on set can be very boring and so it really breaks up the day to have a little baby or a toddler around. Plus, if you have a scene with a toddler you kind of have to make friends with them beforehand - you can’t just expect them to be totally cool with you. That’s the bit I love.
Have there been any disasters?
Sometimes you’ll get a kid screaming down your ear because that’s what kids do and you can’t control it, but if anything it kind of makes you forget about the acting, which is good. And I’ve learnt to just go with it if the camera is rolling because magical things can happen.
Are all the babies making you broody at all?
Not massively. It’s made me completely confident in picking them up and dealing with them and I love having them around but I’ve got the best bit – I don’t have the dirty jobs or the being up all night.
The Christmas special and series three has moved to a new set; were you sad to leave the old Nonnatus House?
Yeah, it was sad to leave – the old Nonnatus House (in London’s Mill Hill) had a really magical feel. The new set (in Chertsey, Surrey) definitely feels like the start of something new, which I think is good for the show. But on our last day at Nonnatus House we all started reminiscing and it was really, really sad.
It was sad to leave Nonnatus House
Do you enjoy Christmas?
I do, but not as much as Helen George! (Nurse Trixie Franklin).
Call The Midwife: Christmas Special, Xmas Day, 6.15pm, BBC1