Prima UK Christmas 2022

Welcome to our fabulous, festive Christmas and New Year issue! We have the lovely on-screen husband and wife duo Stephen McGann and Laura Main, who are not only superb actors in Call The Midwife, but are great friends, too. In our interview on page 10, Stephen explains how getting on so well means that they trust each other implicitly and support each other. That’s what makes a good friendship so special and it’s something our real-life friends on page 32 share, too. I love the idea of Sara and Claire (above) as young children, knocking on the connecting wall between their houses when they wanted to chat. More than 40 years on, they still have that special understanding. Women can gain so much from a good friendship, and I too…

● We will have the results of our Write a Thriller competition in our April issue (on sale 1 March). We’ve had so many entries, but the judges are getting close to choosing the winner and runners-up. ● We’d love to feature your favourite books on Nina’s book pages in the From My Bookshelf section. Simply choose a book you’ve enjoyed at any stage in your life and tell us why you love it, and we’ll give it a mention. Email your entries to prima@hearst.co.uk. ● I’ll be following up on our Knit a Blanket campaign and visiting the headquarters of the charity Knit for Peace to see your lovely blankets and find out the difference they are making.…

Compiled by Phoebe Lee, Corin Ripley, Alice Shields, Georgie D’Arcy Coles, Becca Green…

Some Christmas traditions are quintessential: pulling crackers, eating mince pies and watching the Call The Midwife Christmas special. Every year, millions tune in to find out what the nuns and midwives of Nonnatus House are up to – and this year, there’s plenty of drama in store. With the aftermath of series 11’s train crash still lingering, everyone bands together to put on a talent show, Poplar-tunity Knocks, to raise morale and funds. Some familiar characters from the past also return, including Rhoda Mullucks (Liz White), whose baby was born with birth defects after she took thalidomide during pregnancy. We caught up with on-screen couple Stephen McGann and Laura Main, who play Dr Patrick Turner and Shelagh Turner, to find out more.…

The Call The Midwife Christmas special is a festive highlight. How does it feel to be such a mainstay on the calendar? It’s a privilege and honour, but with that comes great responsibility. People want sparkle at Christmas – and different people want to watch different things, so catering for all isn’t the same as filming a weekly episode. This is our 11th special, and we never take it for granted. Can you not relax until it’s aired? Not quite! At Christmas we’ll usually have some in-laws over. As soon as we’ve had dinner, everybody sits down to watch telly, and Heidi and I think, ‘Here we go!’ Our family watch the special as if we’re not there. They’ll yell things at the TV like, ‘Ooh, you can’t say that to Trixie!’ But…

We’re so excited about the Christmas special. Can you tell us any behind-the-scenes gossip? Well, we were all terrified about doing the talent show! Normally, I go to the kids’ trailers to cheer them up and make sure they’re feeling good, but this time I was just as nervous. We had so much fun, though. Watching the children play with the fake snow was infectious – there was even a snowball fight. Plus, the house looked beautiful. One of my favourite things about Christmas is the decorations, so I just love how much Shelagh goes to town with them. We all get spoiled every year, as we get to have two Christmases! So Christmas is a big deal for you, then? Absolutely! I’m often working over Christmas, but I love decorating my parents’…