star Megan Cusack, who plays Nurse Nancy Corrigan in the long-running period drama, has opened up about the complexities of her character’s romance with new addition Roger Noble (Conor O’Donnell).
While Conor is also Irish, he is a Protestant, and Nancy is a Catholic, which Megan says “could cause strife.” Indeed, Roger’s mother seems acutely aware of this when she meets the young mum who has captured her son’s heart after the couple gets engaged in the latest instalment.
Speaking exclusively to and other media at an event in advance of the new series, Megan reflected: “I think there is so much more than just… a mother-in-law that’s a bit difficult. There is religious and political background that goes into the reasoning why she finds it difficult.
“You know, at that time (1970), still things were going on that divide – it’s still heavy today. I think it could feel like it happened years ago, but we only just celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, not that long ago, and then came and brought loads of that tension back up again,” she explained.
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Megan Cusack has admitted her character Nancy Corrigan’s relationship could cause issues (Image: BBC)
Revealing that members of her own family had faced issues because of a multi-denominational marriage, she said: “Across my family, there are Protestant and Catholic (unions) Catholic, and they face difficulties with that. That was a big deal.
“And despite the fact she [Roger’s mother] created a life over in London, I understand why someone of her generation looking at her son would find that difficult.
“If they ever moved back to Ireland, that would cause a lot of strife and so I understand her point and why she would be worried about that. Being from Ireland I understand why she was worried about that.
“So it’s less that she’s just gone, she’s[Nancy]…not good enough. There’s a lot that goes behind it.
“But it’s nice to see that she comes around at the end, because you know that coming together of people is what helped us push forward,” Megan smiled.
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Call the Midwife’s Megan Cusack, who plays Nancy Corrigan, has dropped some spoilers (Image: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Olly Courtney)
Esther Noble, played by Andrea Irvine is not hapy her son has fallen in love with Nancy Corrigan (Image: BBC)
Despite the potential difficulties the couple faces, Megan admitted she relished having the opportunity to play out a relationship storyline.
“It was lovely,” she gushed. “I never thought that Nancy would have a romance so that was lovely. And also to have Conor join [the show] is wonderful.
“So it’s kind of just a new element of that character to explore that I didn’t think would happen. It’s been lovely, in the sense that it feels like the community of Poplar has allowed her to let her guard down and experience that – someone loving her.
“So, it was exciting, daunting. It was different. It was exciting,” she smiled.
Call The Midwife is on One on Sunday nights at 8pm. Previous episodes are available on iPlayer.