Pam Ferris (Sister Evangelina) and Jessica Raine (Jenny) with Emma Noakes, who played Shirley Redmond in Episode Four.
Miranda Hart (Chummy Browne) and Tina O’Brien, who played Cathy Powell in Episode Six.
(Poster © Reproduced with permission from library and archive material from the collections of the Royal College of Midwives/The Royal College of Midwives)
(Photo © We Are Laura)
PROFILE
JENNY
Jennifer Worth expressed very little interest in who would eventually play her. When we used to play at putting an imaginary cast together, she would change the subject when it came to the character of Jenny. Apart from expressing an entirely natural desire that the girl we hired should be good looking, she claimed to have no opinion at all. She didn’t fictionalise ‘Jenny Lee’ in her Call the Midwife books – she used her own name, and set herself upon the page quite plainly. I often wondered if she regretted this.
What Jennifer was always very clear about, however, was that she would like the series to give young, unknown performers a chance to shine. Our casting director, Andy Pryor, is a tremendous spotter of new talent, and his first trawl of ‘Jennys’ was fantastic. Most of them were unknown to me and I knew this would please Jennifer. By this stage, she was acutely ill and, although I knew we couldn’t rush the process, I was desperate to cast the part before she died. For all she feigned indifference, I had a gut feeling that she actually DID want to know who was going to play the part.
Every girl who auditioned for the part had something brilliant to commend her, but a lot of them were just a bit too modern. But then I saw Jessica Raine’s audition tape and suddenly sat up straight. Here was someone with cut-glass pronunciation that didn’t sound like a parody, and an inner strength that didn’t seem too bold: Jessica Raine. She had come close to being overlooked, but was invited to the next round of auditions and Philippa Lowthorpe, the director, e-mailed me excitedly: ‘We got Jessica back – she was fantastic!!’ That was it – we offered her the job.
With the success of the first series, Jessica became a star overnight. But no success – especially in show business – is ever truly instant. Like many a performer, she worked long and hard to achieve her aims.
Jessica grew up on a farm in rural Herefordshire. Her heart was set on acting from childhood. ‘I knew I wanted to act but I didn’t say so for years, because it seemed unattainable as a career,’ she reveals.
‘I did A level Theatre Studies and had an incredibly inspirational teacher. That’s what makes teaching so vital. He touched a lot of people’s lives.’
Jessica went on to study drama at University of the West of England, then waitressed while seeking roles in local plays. It strikes me that Jennifer would have had every sympathy with Jessica’s early deliberations, for she too took time to find her feet professionally. Leaving school in her mid-teens, she learned shorthand and typing, working in a boys’ grammar school before applying to train as a nurse.
Jessica’s path to drama school in the capital was similarly vexed, but, like the woman she went on to immortalise on screen, she refused to be daunted. Despite being turned down by RADA, she moved to London and worked in a call centre while building up to having another go. Further rejections from other drama schools followed, but she persisted and applied to RADA once again. This time, she succeeded.
‘By this time I felt there was no possibility I was going to get in, but there was nothing to lose. And as soon as I relaxed and stopped trying to impress people, the real me came out. That was a lesson for life.’
After graduating from RADA, Jessica appeared in a number of National Theatre productions, often playing angry young women with a lot to say. ‘I got a lot off my chest when I was doing that!’ she laughs.
Jessica finds a great deal to interest her in the role of Jenny, who is so different to the rebellious youngsters she has previously played. ‘She has so much empathy, she is young, not particularly innocent, but she looks at things with such new eyes.’
Jessica is in awe of what young midwives such as Jenny, Trixie and Cynthia accomplished in the course of their daily work. ‘It is that sense of command and calm that is really important. You have got to be in control; you are dealing with a woman going through a lot of pain and she could be really terrified.’
By the time Jessica was cast, Jennifer was too ill to meet her. However we were able to show her photographs. She looked at the pictures of the young actress for a long time, stroking the black and white shadows on the paper. And she pronounced herself satisfied. That was all that mattered.
Jessica Raine and I picked up our scripts and set off into the future.
Q&A
What is your favourite outfit?
A cream New Look style coat I had tailor-made. I had to save up for ages, but it was worth the wait.
Where do you go on holiday?
I spent six months in Paris after leaving school. I’ve been back three times, and never tire of it.
Who is your dream date and where would you go?
I’m a classically trained pianist, so I’d love to go back in time and meet one of the great musicians, such as Frederic Chopin. He would give me a piano lesson, and then we would go out to dinner, perhaps on a mountainside, or with a view of a lake. That would be perfect.
What is your favourite record and film?
Mario Lanza singing ‘Be My Love’, and Brief Encounter. They both remind me of someone very dear to me, and a situation that we could not change.
What is your most treasured memory?
Opening the letter telling me I had been accepted to train as a nurse.
Your favourite meal?
Escalopes of veal, followed by Peach Melba.
What do you do in your spare time?
I’m a member of a music club, and I although I don’t drink much alcohol, I also love to visit the pubs of the East End with my friends. The Prospect of Whitby, down by the river, is a great favourite with all of us.
What’s your secret vice?
It’s