star Cliff Parisi, who plays the amiable Fred Buckle in the long-running period drama, has admitted that the storyline that saw his son Reggie Jackson (Daniel Laurie) disappear has been a wake-up call.
In the second part of the show’s Christmas offering, Reggie, who has Down’s syndrome, found himself stranded at the bus station when Fred was delayed on the way to collect him.
Rather than hang around, the young man decided to try to make his own way to Poplar and wandered the roads alone.
His disappearance caused panic among the residents who all went in search of him as he spent the night sleeping in someone’s garage. Although he was found safe and sound, Cliff said the incident “does remind them how vulnerable he can be”.
Speaking exclusively to and other media, he reflected on the episode and Reggie’s experience. “Normally, Reggie has been really sheltered but I think they’ve started to try and grant him a little bit more independence as he’s got older.
:
Call The Midwife’s Fred Buckle and his wife Violet have raised Reggie Jackson for years (Image: BBC)
“He gets his pay packet with his name on it now. So when he gets paid, when we do a job together, he gets a separate pay packet with his own name on it.
“He’s now becoming a young man, and they’re trying to respect that and trying to make him more responsible.
“The problem that happens is Fred’s problem – it actually wasn’t Reggie – it was Fred being late, and he’s never late. But on this particular occasion, things got out of control; he couldn’t get there in time.
“So I don’t know, I think it does remind them how vulnerable he can be, and if things go all right, then they come right, but if they go wrong, he doesn’t have another option. He doesn’t know what to do,” Cliff pondered.
Don’t miss… [EXCLUSIVE] [EXCLUSIVE]
Reggie Jackson decides to try and make his own way to Poplar when Fred Buckle is late to pick him up (Image: BBC)
Reggie’s disappearance was just one of the .
With escaped prisoners hiding out in Poplar, a family thrown out on the streets and influenza and the Hong Kong flu spreading throughout the area it had a bleaker feel than the annual episode has in the past.
However there were also some of the usual heartwarming moments and the return of Nurse Trixie Aylward (Helen George). It also looked as if love was on the horizon for Nurse Nancy Corrigan (Meghan Cusack).
These two episodes, set in 1969, mark the last ones set in the sixties as the new series moves into 1970.