CALL the Midwife's Jenny Agutter has made a shock admission about the beloved BBC show ahead of the series 12 launch.

The 70-year-old has played Sister Julienne since the period drama began a decade ago.

Call the Midwife's first series was set in 1957 and the upcoming twelfth series will take place a decade on in 1967-68.

While the show has been a huge success for the BBC and its stars, Jenny has admitted she didn't expect it to last as long as it has when she first got the part.

She said: "I didn’t see this happening. I thought we’d do six episodes and that would be it.

"I was sat on a bus once when the woman next to me said, ‘I didn’t want to disturb you, but I have to say, I watch Call The Midwife and I have a particular interest in it because I was a nun for seven years.’ I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, I’ve been a nun longer than her.’”

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While Jenny loves playing Sister Julienne, she admitted she has relished stepping into other roles during breaks from filming Call the Midwife.

During her chat with Good Housekeeping for its February issue, she said: "When I was asked to do the Marvel film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I couldn’t think of anything better than stepping out of Call The Midwife to work with a stunt team and beat up Robert Redford.

"Although admittedly, they wouldn’t let me stunt-punch him. They were worried I’d actually hit him, instead of missing him!”

Jenny started her career as a child actress, starring in The Railway Children, Walkabout and Star!

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She has also starred in a number of Hollywood films including An American Werewolf in London and Logan's Run.

Jenny has managed to juggle her acting career with her family life, raising son Jonathan with husband Johan Tham.

Discussing how she has balanced the two, she told the publication: "I always knew I was going to go back to work because it was a huge part of my life and I didn’t want to give it up.

"But I had to compromise a lot and make the decisions that fitted in with family life.

"Of course, there was guilt, too. There’s always that niggle that you’re spending too much time away.

"But the rewards are that you get home and you really enjoy being there.”

Read the full interview with Jenny Agutter in the February 2023 issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale from today, December 29, 2022. Call the Midwife series 12 begins on New Year's Day at 8pm on BBC One.

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