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Jenny Agutter thought Call the Midwife would only last six episodes

Jenny Agutter thought Call the Midwife would only last for six episodes credit:Bang Showbiz
Jenny Agutter thought Call the Midwife would only last for six episodes credit:Bang Showbiz

Jenny Agutter thought 'Call the Midwife' would only last for six episodes.

The 70-year-old actress has starred as Sister Julienne on the BBC period drama series since its inception in 2012 and although it is set to return to screens for its 12th outing on New Year's Day, she initially believed the show would have a much shorter run.

She said: "I was sat on a bus once when the woman next to me said, 'I didn't want to disturb you, but I have to say, I watch ‘Call The Midwife’ and I have a particular interest in it because I was a nun for seven years. 'I thought, 'Oh, my goodness, I've been a nun longer than her.' I didn't see this happening. I thought we'd do six episodes and that would be it."

Meanwhile, 'The Railway Children' actress went on to add that when she reached her milestone birthday just five days before Christmas, she concluded that age "doesn't really matter" after initially fretting over her 60th a decade earlier, noting that the death of her father has had an impact on the way she approaches life.

She told Good Housekeeping Magazine: "I'm not quite sure how I got here! When I turned 60, it seemed like this milestone that suddenly made a person much older and I thought, 'is it enough of a reward to have a Freedom Pass?' Actually, yes, it was! Now I've got to a point where I think, 'Do you know what? Age really doesn't count – it's just a number.

"When my father was dying, it was very different to when I lost my mother many years earlier. I was much less concerned with making plans and more focused on just being with him – and that was a very good thing.

"Now, it's about turning off the switch every so often. I'll go, 'Okay, you can't plan this out completely. Just do what you have to do."