Call The Midwife descends into chaos as cast battle 57mph winds while actor Cliff Parisi suffers hyperthermia after filming coastal scenes

Call The Midwife was thrown into chaos as the cast filmed during Storm Agnes and battled 60mph winds in West Wittering on the West Sussex coast.

While the cast were filming the upcoming scenes on the beach last year, Cliff Parisi, who plays Fred Buckle in the BBC series, suffered from hyperthermia due to the weather conditions.

In scenes to be broadcast on Sunday, we see the residents of Nonnatus House and their friends heading to the beach for a picnic.

But while fans are getting excited to see the latest episode, it wasn’t easy for the cast to film it during the treacherous winds.

In September 2023, Cliff required medical attention after shivering from the blazing wind.

He explained, according to the Mirror: ‘The wind was incredible. I ended up developing hyperthermia. They had to take me off the set. At that point we had done most of it.

‘Things were flying all over the place. Hair and makeup gave up and took cover. There was sand everywhere.”

Cliff, who recovered after being wrapped in a foil blanket, added: “They had to take me off the set. I had to warm up, I couldn’t go any further. By then we had done most of it.”

During filming, Linda Bassett, who plays Nurse Crane, picked up pregnant Lindy Webber, who is played by actress Lydia Fleming, while Miss Higgins, played by Georgie Glen, assisted.

The cast usually sat behind windbreaks to protect them from the blazing wind and sand blowing everywhere.

Helen George (Trixie Aylward) sat gracefully in a beach hut next to her on-screen family Archie Callaghan (Jonty Aylward) and Olly Rix (Matthew Alyward).

Stephen McGann (Dr. Turner) was seen building sandcastles with his on-screen son Edward Shaw (Teddy Turner).

Annabel Apsion, who plays city councilor and Fred’s wife Violet in the show, added a line during filming to explain the bad weather in the scene set in 1969.

In reality, records were broken that year for heat, with Annabel saying the weather was ‘a bit disappointing’ in her scene.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that two new stars of Call The Midwife have previously taken on some riskier roles – appearing in a spandex leotard, thigh-high garters and fishnet tights that would put Sister Monica Joan to shame.

Natalie Quarry, 25, and Renee Bailey, 28, play student midwives and housemates in the hit BBC drama, which is now in its 13th series.

Mrs. Quarry is the naive but determined Rosalind Clifford and Mrs. Bailey is Joyce Highland, who has emigrated from Trinidad to escape a secret past.

The roles are a stark contrast to the actresses’ previous jobs. In her student days, Ms Quarry – who attended Rose Bruford College drama school – appeared on stage in her underwear in a musical production of the romantic fantasy City Of Angels.

Photos on her personal Instagram page, which has 2,500 followers, show her in white silk underwear and stockings, posing on a bed. She also sang and played the violin during the production, later changing into a black strappy dress from the 1950s.

Elsewhere on her Instagram page, the actress shared photos of herself with her boyfriend of five years, or sullenly staring at the camera in bright purple and green eyeshadow.

After graduating from drama school, Ms Quarry made her television debut in an episode of Doctors, but the actress always had her sights set on Call The Midwife.

She said: “I remember when I left drama school I thought, ‘Gosh, I think I’d be good in Call The Midwife. Maybe I should email them.’

“So episode one is a bit of a weird full-circle moment because I have a big head and say, ‘I’d be good at Call The Midwife.’

Meanwhile, Ms Bailey made her TV debut in 2022 in the six-part BBC Three series Mood, a musical drama about how young women use social media to achieve their dreams.

She described the job as a “trial by fire” in an Instagram post, which showed photos of her dancing in a spandex leotard, matching fingerless gloves, thigh-high boots and fishnets.

To play the role of rapper Paris, Ms. Bailey had her hair short and dyed fluorescent green.