Warning: there are some spoilers relating to Call The Midwife below. If you aren't caught up on the series or don't wish to know more, click away now...
Charlotte Ritchie’s much-loved character, Barbara, will return to BBC One’s Call the Midwife this week, but she may not be quite the same character fans expect.
Nurse Barbara Gilbert (Charlotte Ritchie) and her husband, Reverend Tom Hereward (Jack Aston) made the decision to leave Poplar and move to Birmingham as per the Christmas special, but thankfully, they have decided to return.
However, Richie warned that fans might spot some differences in her straight away.
In a new interview, the actress revealed she'll have a new look now playing Barbara. "She looks more sophisticated with her clothes and her hair is longer so she’s styled up. I think she has grown up too. She sees herself as a wife."
And while she says it's fitting for her character to evolve, Richie says that now, she no longer relates to certain traits like she once used to.
She loves her characters' confidence, saying that Barbara is "braver than me by a mile," but now married herself, finds it hard to relate to the image of perfection that Barbara and so many women of the time felt they had to live up to.
"[I think] she thinks her role is to iron Tom’s shirts and cook the dinner. That’s where she and I part ways, but that’s fitting for the time."
Previously she said she was delighted the show served as a reminder that time had moved on. "Some things are jarring about the women we play.
“We love them and have an affinity with them. When I think about Barbara doing Tom’s ironing while also working and I’m like ‘What?’ In one scene she says, ‘I’m sorry I’m late. I’ll sort dinner and make a start on the ironing.’ I’m glad things have changed.”
Nevertheless, we're certain that all fans of the show will be glad to see her back on their screens.
