Jenny Agutter on why Christmas is so special
The Call the Midwife star on having a baby on Christmas Day and how she never really wanted to be an actor.
The Call the Midwife star on having a baby on Christmas Day and how she never really wanted to be an actor.
Christmas was always a big deal. My parents went out of their way to make the day special for our family because my mother was one of ten children from an Irish family in Liverpool and they didn’t have much of a Christmas.
My father was an only child. He was in the army, so we travelled a lot. I lived in Singapore as a child for about four years and Cyprus for eight. And later, when my brother Jonathan and I were at boarding school in the UK, we would always be home in time for Christmas.
My mother always made a point of dressing a Christmas tree on my birthday, which is 20 December, and making dresses for my dolls.
My son Jonathan was born on Christmas Day – five weeks early. It was unexpected as he wasn’t due until 28 January. On 24 December 1990, we were celebrating Christmas with my husband John’s family in Henley. He is Swedish, which means it’s traditional to celebrate on Christmas Eve by opening stockings and having a special meal. We went to church for a midnight service, and I couldn’t stop crying during every carol. The next day, I was in labour.
During Christmas Day, I remember the obstetrician saying, “The baby doesn’t seem to be coming yet, so I’m off to carve the turkey.” He went off again for his Christmas pudding and, just before midnight, although I wanted to carry on with labour, my sister-in-law said, “If it goes on any longer, he’ll be born on Boxing Day.”
So, I finally agreed to an epidural and forceps delivery. He was very tiny with a pointy head. Thinking about it still makes me emotional.
We will celebrate with my son, Jonathan, his wife and my two grandchildren, Oliver, five, and Lyra, two. Like many, I have discovered what a wonderful thing it is to be a grandparent, because you can totally enjoy your grandchildren without any responsibility other than showing them your complete love and affection.
No, I was an outgoing child, but I would never, ever have chosen to act. It happened by chance when I was at ballet school. Much as I loved it, I knew that being a dancer wasn’t in me. But my life changed completely in 1964 when I was given the opportunity at the age of 12 to appear in the Walt Disney film Ballerina. And by the age of 14, I was playing Roberta in the 1968 TV version of The Railway Children.
So many people say they have grown up with it, and it’s become part of their lives. As well as the TV series, I played Roberta in the movie of The Railway Children when I was 17. Then, in 2000, I played the mother in the TV drama, and I played the grandmother in The Railway Children Return in 2022.
[Hero image credit: Camera Press/Dan Kennedy]
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