Call the Midwife star planned to race home to watch Christmas special with mum
The Call the Midwife Christmas special has become an annual favourite for families.
By JOHN PAUL BRESLIN FOR THE SCOTTISH MAIL ON SUNDAY
Published: 18:32 GMT, 27 December 2025 | Updated: 18:38 GMT, 27 December 2025
The Call the Midwife Christmas special has become an annual favourite for families.
And Scots actress Laura Main has said it’s no different for her as she revealed she planned to race off stage in panto so she could watch this year’s show with her own mother.
The Aberdeen-born star, who has played sister Shelagh Turner in all 14 series of the hit drama, has been starring in panto Sleeping Beauty at Sunderland Empire theatre.
Following a break on Christmas Day, the cast were all set to return to the stage for a performance on Boxing Day.
Coincidentally, the Call the Midwife Christmas special was due to be broadcast the same day posing a timing issue for Main who has made it a tradition to watch it live with her family in Aberdeen.
Thankfully, Ms Main revealed her mother was coming to see her Boxing Day performance in Sunderland before the pair would rush home to watch the TV show together.
In an interview with Living North, Ms Main said: ‘A couple of times I got to do it in Aberdeen – performing on Christmas Eve, then on television on Christmas night.
Laura Main has played sister Shelagh Turner in all 14 series ofCall the Midwife
Ms Main revealed her mother was coming to see her Boxing Day performance in Sunderland before the pair would rush home to watch the TV show together
Main has been starring in panto Sleeping Beauty at Sunderland Empire theatre
‘On this occasion that’ll be Boxing Day and we’ve got an earlier show so I will get back in time to watch it, and I’ve had to make sure we had to factor that in when my mum comes to see the show! That feels really, really special.’
She added: ‘I do like to watch it live. You can even get a little bit nervous before it comes out but there’s something about tuning in as everybody else is experiencing it.’
The 48-year-old actress is clearly close to her family and has spoken often of the support she has received from her mother Lorna, sisters Rona and Julia and her late father Robert.
She is also incredibly close to her nieces and nephews.
Touching on what that means to her, she said: ‘Mum and Dad and my sisters and their kids have all been so supportive of my career, but Call The Midwife is particularly special and they all love it.’
And her stint in Sunderland isn’t her first foray into panto, having previously starred in productions of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast in Aberdeen.
She said: ‘I know I’m away from home this time, but I genuinely feel really at home in Sunderland.
‘I love that interaction – you have it in theatre where you feel the audience – but to be really speaking to an audience. You learn from everything you do, and I’ve come back to do [panto] because I love it.’