Call the Midwife

Sister Julienne and Shelagh are thrilled that the new midwifery training scheme is underway, which includes pupil midwives Rosalind Clifford, Joyce Highland, Kathy Downes and Norelle Morris. Once introduced to the routines of a home delivery, Rosalind and Joyce unpack their belongings and settle into Nonnatus House.

Dr Turner expresses his delight about a new scheme which allows GPs to deliver some of their more complex patients in hospital with a consultant on standby. When Doreen Challis, a young woman with cerebral palsy, is confirmed to be pregnant, her mother Ada is furious, not only at the baby's father, Graham, but Doreen's sister Anne, who helped conceal the pregnancy. As concerns grow for Doreen, a shocking detail from her own birth comes to light.

Rosalind's first birth on the district is a baptism of fire under Trixie's tutelage. All seems to be going well until events take a dramatic turn, putting Trixie, Rosalind, mother and baby in danger.

When Violet regretfully tells Fred and Reggie that the fairground she's booked for Easter Monday has cancelled, Reggie comes up with an idea that will bring the community together. Meanwhile, the Nonnatus team learn of the nurses' Raise the Roof Campaign for better pay and conditions, and there is a clear divide of opinion around the table.

At Tuesday clinic, Shelagh and Joyce oversee the care of Edna Bristow, a heavily pregnant mother of one, whose husband has left her just days before their baby is due. Edna proves to be quite a difficult patient, but there are greater challenges ahead when it becomes clear that her flat is riddled with damp.

Meanwhile, at The Shining Tabernacle church, Mrs Wallace believes there is an urgent need for a church building due to the growing congregation. She's also concerned about worshippers who have stopped attending, and asks Cyril to check in on them. As Cyril connects with the Bristow family, he feels at a loss when he's unable to help, and begins to question his career path.

Nancy and Dr Turner are involved in a worrying medical case with a young Sylheti woman, Sahira Khan. She has been suffering with unexplained symptoms that seem to ebb and flow, but have recently started to worsen. As Dr Turner investigates the cause, Nancy offers support to Sahira and her husband, Ayub. Meanwhile, Nancy decides to attend an RCN Raise the Roof campaign meeting against the wishes of some of her peers.

Trixie has been struggling with the long bus commute to Poplar each day, and decides it is time she learnt how to drive. Matthew offers to teach her, but soon regrets his decision. Meanwhile, Collette struggles in a sponsored poetry recital as she strives to memorise a long T. S. Eliot poem.

Reggie comes home for a few weeks' holiday and helps Fred to make over the small unkempt green space outside St Oswald's church. This is paid work for them both and marks the first time Reggie has earned his own money. Violet and Fred decide it is time they pay Reggie for his work in Buckle's paper shop. Meanwhile, Violet considers running for mayor and is somewhat preoccupied with her application. She fails to notice that Fred isn't his usual cheery self. Events take a dramatic turn, and it looks like Violet's mayoral campaign will have to be abandoned.

Model Gillian Baxter is something of a star in Poplar. Born into an East End family, Gillian was signed up to a baby modelling agency, and her face was seen on the sides of London buses advertising baby soap. Since becoming pregnant, Gillian has been signed up to model once more, and there are plans already in place for her newborn to follow in her footsteps. Rosalind and Sister Julienne oversee Gillian's delivery at the maternity home, but when her newborn baby is diagnosed with a birth defect, Gillian doesn't take the news well. Nurse Crane helps Gillian and her husband, Liam, through this challenging time.

Meanwhile, Trixie starts making plans for a move into the Barbican flat and tries to enlist Matthew's help selecting a new sofa.

It's July 1969, and everyone is giddy with nervous excitement about Apollo 11's imminent landing on the moon. The whole community wishes to mark this special occasion, and there is a public showing of the landing outside, using the Nonnatus House television set. Sister Veronica, Sister Julienne, Fred, Violet, Rosalind, Colette, Miss Higgins, Nurse Crane and Nancy are in attendance. Dr Turner, Shelagh, Angela, May, Teddy and Timothy host a family celebration and stay up late to watch the coverage. Sister Monica Joan is thankful to be able to witness a moon landing in her lifetime and is overcome with emotion when the Apollo commander, Neil Armstrong, steps onto the moon's surface. Meanwhile, Fred is unhappy with being under the watchful eye of Violet and wishes he could return to work.

The pupil midwives are now into their third month of training and undergo a review. Sister Julienne, Shelagh and Nurse Crane are delighted with the scheme and how well Rosalind and Joyce are getting on. However, it's noted that both pupils have areas of practice that would benefit from improvement – Rosalind's self-confidence and Joyce's belief in home births. Under Trixie's tutelage, Joyce is assigned to Prue Stanton, a rumbustious warm-hearted local, who proves to be quite a challenge. But things take a turn for the worse when Trixie makes a serious mistake with far-reaching consequences.

Sister Veronica presides over a BCG vaccination clinic at St Oswald's Hall for secondary school age children. The results from the clinic tests are rushed through before the end of the school term. A Biafran family cause great concern for the team, and Nancy delves into her family's past, which finally gives her some closure.

It's the summer of 1969, and excitement fills the air as Violet prepares for the inaugural beach excursion – her first key event since becoming mayor.

Despite the terrible weather at the beach, everyone is having a good time. Yet the atmosphere quickly changes when Lindy goes into labour. Nurse Crane and Miss Higgins drive Lindy back to the maternity home. But, despite a straightforward birth, Lindy and her partner Melvin are shocked by a rare diagnosis.

Meanwhile, following a serious incident involving May at the beach, Dr Turner and Shelagh are blindsided when May's future with them is called into question.

As summer draws to a close in Poplar, the pupil midwives are coming to the end of their training on the district, and prepare to sit their final exams and viva. Joyce is a methodical planner and can keep calm under fire, but Rosalind is becoming more and more anxious. It takes an unusual intervention by Nurse Crane and a sensitive case to see Rosalind put her nerves behind her.

When two little boys are found abandoned in the local church, triggering a nationwide hunt for their mother, Cyril, as child welfare officer, is faced with his toughest challenge to date. When their heavily pregnant mother is found, Cyril must make the difficult decision of whether the children will be taken into foster care.

Matthew's financial woes come to a head when he is summoned to a board meeting with his mother about the state of the business. Following a number of unwise business decisions and investments, that almost bring the company to its knees, it's time Matthew finally comes clean with Trixie.

Elsewhere, Dr Turner is alarmed by local moneylender and matriarch Gladys Bell's swollen ascetic abdomen. He promptly refers her to St Cuthbert's, where a biopsy diagnoses mesothelioma of the peritoneum - an asbestos-related cancer in its advanced stages. When Gladys refuses treatment, an unlikely ally gives her food for thought.

Meanwhile, Sister Veronica and Shelagh spearhead a summer singing event.

It's October 1969, and Rosalind and Joyce are thrilled to receive their red cardigans. Sister Julienne presents Joyce with the Violet Albany Prize, which is given to the East London midwife who qualifies with the highest marks in her exams. Shelagh has arranged for everyone to have their photograph taken for the Gazette outside Nonnatus House. Elsewhere, Joyce oversees the care of Gerri Godfrey, a single mother who is pregnant with her second child. When Joyce receives an unexpected visitor from her past, she must put all distractions aside to focus on her patient.

Matthew and Trixie struggle with their change in fortune, and Trixie's lack of sleep prompts her to seek help from Dr Turner. As Matthew vows to overcome their financial troubles, he is offered a lifeline from an old colleague.

Nurse Crane and Rosalind give a talk about menstruation and contraception at Kingsley Toy Factory. The all-female workforce is rowdy and give 16-year-old Alison Casey a hard time. Rosalind understands Alison is concealing a pregnancy and suspects something is wrong when she becomes distressed during an examination.

Elsewhere, Fred plans on using turnips for Halloween lanterns but orders far too many. When they are accidentally unloaded outside Violet's shop, Violet demands Fred moves them at once. As Fred seeks Cyril's help, Miss Higgins and Nurse Crane have an idea on how to put the turnips to use.

Miss Higgins receives an unexpected visitor, and Sister Monica ruffles feathers. Poplar votes for its Mother of the Year.