‘Call the Midwife’ season 4: Did Jessica Raine’s exit hurt Christmas Special ratings?

Some of the latest information is out there about the ratings for the Christmas Specials in the United Kingdom, and with that, there is one question we were curious about: Was the departure of Jessica Raine from “Call the Midwife” enough to kill its ratings?

Well, the answer to that is “not entirely,” though there may still be a small impact. Overall, the show was watched by 6.7 million viewers, which is a slight decrease from the 7.1 who watched it live in 2013. With this being said, it would be perhaps a little too easy to blame the lack of Raine’s Jenny Lee; many Christmas Specials were down considerably. “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” was still #1 on the night, but it lost well over a million viewers from last year; also, “Doctor Who” lost more than 20% of its audience, but this was expected since this was not the farewell to a Doctor like it was last year with Matt Smith.

“Call the Midwife” is still set up very well for the start of its season next month. If you are curious, the show tends to pull in another two million viewers or so in the week that follows Christmas. While this may be a major tradition for British families to watch Christmas Specials together, that does not mean everyone does it. Many are still finding ways to prioritize spending time with one another first and foremost.

We are going to have further news on the show moving into next year, so be sure to stay tuned for more of that.

What do you think about some of these ratings right now? Share with a comment, and head over here if you missed our full review of the big special! Also, sign up to get some more news and updates on everything we cover right away via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: BBC.)