Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh is set to welcome Call the Midwife star Judy Parfitt on Sunday’s episode.
Also joining Alan, 77, for the final show before the summer break are Brian Conley, Freddie Fox, Julian Ovenden and Honeysuckle Weeks. The show will also feature a performance from the cast of High Society ahead of their West End debut
Legendary actress Judy, 90, has enjoyed a lengthy and distinguished acting career and had appeared in Call the Midwife since 2012. However, in the series 15 finale, which aired earlier this year, Judy’s beloved character Sister Monica Joan passed away in emotional scenes.
With Judy appearing on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, viewers will be interested to learn about the incredible actress’ life.
Recognised primarily for portraying Sister Monica Joan in the BBC’s acclaimed series Call the Midwife, Judy has maintained a remarkable career stretching across multiple decades. The actress has an extensive portfolio encompassing theatre, cinema, and television work.
View 4 ImagesIn the series 15 finale, which aired earlier this year, Judy’s beloved character Sister Monica Joan passed away in emotional scenes(Image: BBC / Neal Street / Olly Courtney)
Her professional path commenced in 1953 following her graduation from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, subsequently joining the Royal Shakespeare Company, where she performed alongside iconic figures such as Laurence Olivier.
Throughout her career, she has accumulated multiple BAFTA nominations for her outstanding work in celebrated dramas including The Jewel in the Crown and Pride and Prejudice.
Although she didn’t secure the award for her supporting performance in 2003’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, Judy has consistently mesmerised viewers with her appearances in cherished programmes such as Heartbeat, Midsomer Murders, Jonathan Creek, and Vera.
Judy has reminisced fondly about her life alongside her late husband, Tony Steedman, whom she wed in 1963, and with whom she had a son, David, born the following year.
View 4 ImagesLegendary actress Judy, 90, has enjoyed a lengthy and distinguished acting career (pictured in 1971)(Image: Getty Images)
The actress, looking back on her early days with Tony, celebrated for his roles in Coronation Street, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Citizen Smith, told the Express: “Tony had the leading role and he was always trying to make me laugh as I was a terrible giggler. The first time I saw him he was wearing this absolutely hideous bright red jumper, so he definitely made an impression.”
Judy went on, remembering Tony’s humorous character, saying: “He had people in stitches wherever we went and he was always playing the fool. Whereas I tended to worry, Tony didn’t and he never took himself or anything too seriously.”
Tony tragically passed away in 2001, and Judy has remained unmarried since. She previously revealed to MailOnline that, despite their busy professional lives, their domestic life was surprisingly ordinary.
She remarked: “While both of us were very busy, at home it was a very traditional marriage. I enjoyed cooking and ironing his shirts for him.
View 4 ImagesJudy has reminisced fondly about her life alongside her late husband, Tony Steedman(Image: Jon Furniss/WireImage)
“He loved to be my sous chef, chopping the vegetables while I made dinner. He enjoyed accompanying me to the supermarket, pushing my trolley – but it wasn’t to help me so much as he loved the opportunity to chat and joke with the other shoppers.”
Judy has spoken openly about her late husband’s battle with dementia, previously explaining to the Loose Women panel why having these conversations matter. Reflecting on her experience with her husband’s illness. She disclosed: “I always said with my husband, I lost my husband that I loved, but I gained a child that I love because they become your children, and they’re there physically, but they’re not with you.”
Despite enduring personal heartbreak, Judy has been captivating audiences in her portrayal of Sister Monica Joan in Call the Midwife.
Born in Sheffield in 1935, Judy looked back with Saga magazine on her wartime upbringing and the lessons in resilience it instilled in her, reflecting: “Growing up in the war, I learned how people just got on with [things] despite food rationing, bombs dropping, not knowing if they’d be alive the next day.”
She recalled one particularly vivid wartime memory from when she was just nine years old, describing how her father kept her safe: “[He held] me in his arms as Sheffield lit up around us because it was being blitzed – yet people still went to work the next day!”
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Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh airs on Sunday at 9:30am on ITV and ITV X.