Major 'Call the Midwife' Star Axed From the Show

The news comes after Olly Rix and Helen George's characters married in the Season 12 finale.

By Allison Schonter

The BBC period drama Call the Midwife is reportedly undergoing a major cast shakeup. As the show begins production on Season 9, it is reportedly preparing to say goodbye to Olly Rix, who has starred as Matthew Aylward since 2021. According to a new report from The Sun, Rix will be exiting the series this season.

Although the BBC has not confirmed the shakeup, The Sun, citing sources, said in a report last month that the decision was not Rix's. According to the outlet, the actor was informed just a week prior by scriptwriters that he would be leaving the drama, not only shocking the actor, but also his fellow castmates, with a source revealing, "the news of Olly's departure has left the cast and crew stunned and upset."

"They all thought he was a mainstay on the series after his prominent wedding scenes to Helen last season. Some feel it's a bit unfair and he is well liked by everyone. It felt very out of the blue," the source said. "There is concern now among the remaining cast about not wanting to upset production and people are keeping their heads down."

Rix's departure from the series will follow a milestone moment for his onscreen counterpart. In the Season 12 finale, which aired in February, Matthew and senior nurse Trixie Franklin (Helen George) tied the knot. Later opening up about that long-awaited moment, Rix told Ranvir Singh on the ITV daytime program Lorraine that he "did everything I could to make sure that I didn't see Helen before she arrived on set. I had no idea what the dress was gonna look like, and I said to the guys dropping us down there, 'Please make sure we don't cross paths, I don't want to see her until I see her walking down the aisle.' The actor said the method "worked, and it was a bit of a heartstopping moment."

Rix's reported departure from the show raises many of questions, most pressing being how Call the Midwife will handle his recent marriage to Trixie. The exact way in which Rix's Matthew will be written out of the show has not been revealed.

Call the Midwife is a drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The hit series, produced by Neal Street Productions, premiered in 2012. Along with Rix and George, the show also stars Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Bryony Hannah, Laura Main, Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris, Judy Parfitt, Cliff Parisi, Stephen McGann, and Ben Caplan, among others. The series has won two National Television Awards since its 2012 debut and has been nominated for Returning Drama every year since 2018.

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