Call The Midwife star shares brutal reason she left show halfway through series

Miriam Margolyes had been a fan favourite in ever since she first joined back in 2018.

She took a prolonged absence from the show just three years later, in spite of her success, and news this autumn confirmed she is thought to be leaving permanently. It puts an end to speculation over whether she would be returning - and if so, when.

Now a source has told the Daily Star the reason for her departure was because her schedule is simply too packed to continue with the show.

The 83-year-old actress "absolutely adored" appearing in the medical drama. However, the source reiterated: "Miriam loved being part of the show... but she is too busy to play Mother Mildred now so there are no plans for her to go back."

She had previously praised the "wholesome" show, arguing: "It feeds the soul." Talking to the Mirror, the veteran actress explained exactly why her Mildred role holds a place in her heart.

"It's about decent people doing decent things and that's rather rare on TV these days," she emotionally revealed.

"It's wholesome but that doesn't mean it's dull - it's gripping."

She added: "When you see a programme about caring, about love and people looking after each other, it feeds the soul."

Meanwhile, Miriam's earlier absence was enforced at very short notice due to the travel restrictions present during the Covid pandemic.

The Australian-British actress ended up stranded and unable to return to the UK to complete her scenes.

That isn't the only time that travel struggles have put a stop to her acting plans, either, as the star confirmed that one festive episode, filmed during the Outer Hebrides in winter, was truly treacherous.

She didn't hold back the truth when she told Metro.co.uk at the time that the entire cast soldiered through "extremely cold" conditions.

"Extremely freezing, freezing, freezing. It wasn't the most comfortable of shoots, but it was the most inspiring!" she concluded.