Sister Monica Joan

Born into a leading titled family, Sister Monica Joan was one of the first women in Britain to qualify as a midwife.

Fact title	Fact data
Played by	Judy Parfitt
First appeared	Series 1

In the closing years of the 19th century, this was seen as a radical act. Her additional decision to become a nun scandalised her relatives, who never came to terms with her life choices.

She dedicated her entire adult life to providing midwifery services to the poor of the East End. Now in her nineties, Sister Monica Joan has retired from practice, but lives full-time at Nonnatus House, cared for by her fellow sisters. She has an eccentric, mercurial personality, and is obsessed with cake, astrology and knitting, in no particular order.

Recently Sister Monica Joan has grown increasingly frail and questioning of her usefulness at Nonnatus. However, she proves her skill by helping Trixie care for a family of neglected children.

Judy Parfitt who plays Sister Monica says about her character: “She comes from a good family and she’s an innocent. She’s very eccentric but she’s also getting dementia so she’s in and out of reality which makes it really interesting to play because it’s a very difficult line to get through.”