Call the Midwife's Daniel Laurie's famous family history revealed

Virgin Radio

8 Jan 2024, 16:01

Call the Midwife fans are celebrating the return of all their favourite characters, such as Daniel Laurie’s beloved Reggie Jackson.

Series 13 officially got underway to much praise on Sunday night (7th January), and as a result some fans are discovering new facts about their favourite actors - including Daniel’s own famous family history.

Daniel is in fact the son of former EastEnders legend Leslie Grantham, who starred on the long-running soap as the ‘Dirty’ Den Watts from the show’s very beginning in 1985 to 1989, and then briefly again from 2003-2005 following a surprise resurrection.

Daniel’s dad’s drama alter-ego couldn’t be further from the kind-hearted Reggie, as his ‘Dirty’ Den moniker suggested. The original landlords of the show’s The Queen Vic pub, Den and his wife Angie (played by recent Doctor Who star Anita Dobson) underwent an iconic breakup which saw Den serve Angie divorce papers on Christmas Day.

After returning to the show in the mid-noughties, Den was eventually killed off by his latest spouse Chrissie, who was played by Tracy Ann Oberman.

Though Daniel’s storylines as Reggie on Call the Midwife are very different from his father’s on EastEnders, they have perhaps equally left an impression on their show’s audience. As an actor with Down’s syndrome, Daniel’s role on and behind the scenes of the show has helped educate audiences about the genetic condition, and provided much appreciated representation for others who have Down’s syndrome across the country.

Call the Midwife regularly uses its storylines to tell stories which have a real effect on audiences watching its historically inspired episodes, just as the show’s most recent episode focused on guest actress Rosie Jones’ character Doreen Challis’ story as a pregnant woman with cerebral palsy.

Call the Midwife continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer every Sunday from 8pm.