ALISON BOSHOFF: Helen George will play Anna Leonowens in UK tour of The King And I

Helen George is donning Deborah Kerr’s ballet shoes to play Anna Leonowens in a UK tour of the beloved Rodgers & Hammerstein musical The King And I, which features classics like Getting To Know You and Hello Young Lovers.

Ms. George, who rose to fame as the glamorous Trixie Franklin on Call The Midwife, will play the British schoolteacher who is hired by the King of Siam to educate his many wives and children.

Kerr took on the role in a big screen version opposite Yul Brynner in 1956. In 2018, a production of the musical directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher enjoyed a sold-out run at the London Palladium.

The traveling version, with George as Anna, will visit Dartford, Cardiff, Birmingham and other locations.

She said: “The theater is my first love, and I am so excited to return to the stage for this beautiful and majestic production of The King And I.”

It follows reports that Call The Midwife fans will say a sad goodbye to two beloved characters in the upcoming Christmas Special when they are called to the Motherhouse.

In the festive episode, viewers will learn that Sister Hilda (Fenella Woolgar) has already left Poplar and that Sister Frances (Ella Bruccoleri) will join her after falling off her bike in the snow during a birthing emergency.

According to MirrorAt the end of the episode, viewers will say goodbye to Frances as she is sent off to recover from her injury, though sources claim the door has been left open for both characters to return.

A source said: “She and Fenella are doing other things now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be back at some point.” We will miss you both.

Actress Jenny Agutter, who plays Sister Julienne, added: “The door is always open.”

This year’s holiday special will also see the return of Trixie Franklin, after actress Helen George was written out of the latest series following the birth of her second child.

After years of being unlucky in love, Trixie seems to have finally found Mr. Right in Matthew Aylward, and the couple will finally get engaged on Christmas before their wedding, which will air in the upcoming series.

This year’s Call The Midwife Christmas special will focus on the fallout from the thalidomide scandal, with Susan Mullucks struggling to be included by other children, while her father has spiraled into alcoholism.

The extended episode also sees an abandoned pregnant woman dumped on the street when she goes into labor.

But Poplar will still be full of holiday cheer when Fred Buckle hosts a talent competition called Poplartunity Knocks.