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A few familiar faces are missing from Call the Midwife Season 12. The latest season of the long-running BBC drama recently landed on Netflix in the U.S., which means that some fans are just discovering that several beloved characters have left the show. The departures include Fenella Woolgar, who played the cheerful nun Sister Hilda. 

Sister Hilda isn’t in ‘Call the Midwife’ Season 12 

Woolgar joined the Call the Midwife cast in season 8, which aired in 2019. Her character, Sister Hilda, arrived at Nonnatus House in 1964, and she quickly became an integral part of the close-knit group of nuns and midwives. 

Before she joined the religious order, Sister Hilda served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during World War II. During that period in her life, she lived in London’s East End. When she returned to the neighborhood years later as a midwife, she was shocked by the changes she saw. 

Sister Hilda’s practical attitude and friendly demeanor made her a true asset to Nonnatus House and a favorite with patients, and she seemed truly at home in her life in Poplar. However, nuns must go where their order decides they are needed most. In the Call the Midwife Season 12 Christmas special, we learned that Sister Hilda has been called away to work at the Mother House. 

Why Fenella Woolgar left ‘Call the Midwife’

Call the Midwife fans have seen many characters come and go over the years, including Jessica Raine as Jenny Lee, Jennifer Kirdy as Valerie Dyer, Miranda Hart as Chummy, and Charlotte Ritchie as Barbara Hereward. Often, an actor’s desire to pursue other projects is the reason their character is written off the show. That sounds like what happened in Woolgar’s case. While she hasn’t commented on why she left Call the Midwife, an insider suggested she wanted to pursue other opportunities. 

“Ella and Fenella are off doing other things now – but that doesn’t mean they won’t come back again at some point. They’ll both be missed,” the source told The Mirror when speaking of the departure of Woolgar and her co-star Ella Bruccoleri, who played Sister Frances.

While Woolgar is no longer part of Call the Midwife, you can see her as Lady Brightlinsea in the upcoming series The Buccaneers. It premieres in November 2023 on Apple TV+.  She’ll also appear in the upcoming BBC series The Reckoning. She’ll play Margaret Thatcher in the show about British TV personality and sex offender Jimmy Savile. 

Leonie Elliott, Ella Bruccoleri also left the BBC show 

Lucille wearing a red coat in 'Call the Midwife' Season 11
Leonie Elliott as Lucille Anderson in ‘Call the Midwife’ | Courtesy of Neal Street Productions
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Woolgar isn’t the only Call the Midwife cast member who’s recently left the show. Bruccoleri departed after the 2022 Christmas special. Her character injured herself in a bicycle accident and was sent to the country to recuperate. 

Later in season 12, Nurse Lucille Robinson (Leonie Elliott), also leaves Nonnatus House. She was suffering from severe homesickness and decided to return to her family in Jamaica. Elliott, who joined the show in season 7, addressed her departure in a tweet. 

“Thank you for embracing Lucille and rocking with me on this journey,” she wrote in a statement posted to Twitter on Feb. 28. “It is with a heart full of love and appreciation that I embark on pastures new.”

Call the Midwife Season 12 is now streaming on Netflix. 

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