Summary

• Jessica Raine, who portrayed Jenny Lee in Call the Midwife, left the series to pursue a film career in Hollywood.
• Though her exit was difficult for many fans, Raine's departure didn't stop Call the Midwife from soldiering on, with its thirteenth season currently airing.
• Jenny Lee's character is still present through Vanessa Redgrave's narration, even though she doesn't return to the show.

In 2014, the BBC and PBS period drama Call the Midwife lost one of its most treasured characters, Jenny Lee. Following an emotional Season 3 finale, actor Jessica Raine's beloved protagonist left her job as a midwife in London to pursue a career in a Marie Curie cancer hospice. Raine's departure devastated many of the show's fans, who weren't ready to see Jenny's arc come to a close.

Since the memoirs of Jennifer Worth (née Lee) inspired the television series in the first place, it was difficult to imagine the show going on without Raine's interpretation of her. Despite the integral role she played in the series' inspiration, the popular BBC period drama continues to roll through the 1960s, having wrapped its 13th season in March 2024. It was announced in February that the series would continue on with seasons 14 and 15, but the future beyond that is uncertain. Across thirteen seasons, many beloved characters have come and gone, so, why did Jessica Raine leave Call the Midwife, and where is she now?

Updatedy on May 12, 2024 by Jenny Melzer: Call the Midwife has established television traditions for a lot of viewers over the years, from planning their Christmas holiday around the series' iconic holiday specials to snuggling up indoors during the cold months of winter to catch up with the latest season's episodes. While it's hard to imagine a day when the heartwarming period piece and its cast of nuns and midwives won't return, the show has certainly seen plenty of characters say goodbye over the years. Jessica Raine's departure had viewers uncertain about the show's future, but it managed to carry on well without her. This article has been updated to further explore Raine's Character, Jenny Lee, and her departure from the series, as well as to incorporate CBR's most current standards for formatting.

Jessica Raine's Character Jenny Lee Was Inspired By Jennifer Worth

Worth Wrote A Series Of Memoirs Detailing Her Work With Impoverished Neighborhoods in 1950s London

Debuting in Call the Midwife's early seasons, Jenny Lee's character was based on actual nurse and midwife, Jennifer Worth. In a series of memoirs, Worth recounted her work during the 1950s in London's impoverished East End. Her memoirs included Call the Midwife, Shadows of the Workhouse and Farewell to The East End. Hired as a staff nurse at Whitechapel's London Hospital, Worth worked closely with the Sisters of St. John the Divine, an order of Anglican nuns, as a midwife before continuing the later years of her career as a palliative nurse.

Call the Midwife portrayed Jenny as a somewhat naïve young nurse from a sheltered upbringing who didn't quite understand the nature or severity of the work she would undertake at the fictitious Nonnatus House. The Nuns of the Order of St. Raymond Nonnatus worked closely with the East End's impoverished, providing prenatal and delivery care for women who would have otherwise been unable to afford to be looked after in a time when death was still a very real and dangerous part of childbirth.

Jenny was the series' main protagonist during the first three seasons of Call the Midwife, with viewers watching as she learned the ropes and undertook the many challenges that come with midwifery and nursing. The relationships she forged and the friends she made in her fellow midwives were a central part of the dramatic series' plot, where the nuns and midwives often faced monumental challenges. During her time at Nonnatus House, Jenny came face to face with societal issues like spousal abuse, women's rights in the field of medicine, and delivering her first baby with special needs in Season 2, Episode 4.

Jenny Lee Left Nonnatus House To Change Her Career Focus

Lee's Focus Shifted From Bringing Children Into The World To Seeing The Dying Through The Final Moments

Toward the end of the period drama's third season, after caring for the dying mother of fellow nurse and midwife Camilla "Chummy" Noakes (Miranda Hart), Jenny decides to change careers. She takes a position at the Marie Curie Hospice, Hampstead, launching a new career path as a palliative care nurse, much like the real life Jennifer Lee Worth. Though her decision disheartens the nuns and her fellow midwives, everyone understands it's the best choice for her to make and supports her.

Many Of Call The Midwife's Favorite Characters Departed The Series Over The Years

• Miranda Hart's Camilla "Chummy" Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne
• Pam Ferris' Sister Evangeline
• Kate Lamb's Nurse Delia Busby
• Emerald Fennel's Nurse Patient Mount
• Leonie Elliot's Nurse Lucille Anderson

Around the same time, Jenny meets her future husband, Phillip Worth, and pursues a prosperous and fulfilling marriage with him. English film legend Vanessa Redgrave subsequently provided Jenny's narration on the series, even after the departure of Jenny's character. Though Jenny Lee doesn't return to Call the Midwife after her departure, she is always there in spirit via Redgrave's narrative reflections.

Jessica Raine Left To Broaden Her Career In The Film Industry

Raine Has Gone On To Appear In 14 Series And Films Since Her Departure From Call The Midwife

It was reported by the Daily Mirror that Raine — whose earlier credits included 2010's Robin Hood and 2012's The Woman in Black — left Call the Midwife to pursue a film career in Hollywood. At the time of her departure, Raine commented in many interviews that she was grateful for her time on the drama, but that it was time for her to move on and explore other roles. After leaving the series, Raine told Matt Baker on The One Show that she no longer watched Call the Midwife. However, she said she had kept in touch with some former co-stars, including Helen George.

Raine went on to make guest appearances in several popular television series over the years. In 2013, while she was still a cast member in Call the Midwife, Raine appeared in the classic sci-fi series Doctor Who. She starred as Emma Grayling in "Hide," alongside the Eleventh Doctor. That same year, Raine appeared as Verity Lambert, a noted television producer in the 1960s, in An Adventure in Space and Time, a television film documenting the creation of the original Doctor Who series. Raine also made guest appearances in shows like Line of Duty, Wolf Hall, and Fortitude, rounding out her already impressive resume since leaving Call the Midwife.

In 2017, Raine played Alison Laithwaite in The Last Post, which she has described as "my favorite character I’ve played so far, ever. It was a real transformation. ... She’s kind of self-destructive, witty and she’s climbing the walls with frustration and boredom, but she just wants to have fun.” Laithwaite was viewed as drastically different from Raine's Call the Midwife character. Raine starred with Peter Capaldi in the first season of Prime Video's The Devil's Hour, portraying insomniac mother and social worker Lucy Chambers, who finds herself in the middle of a serial murder investigation when her emotionally detached son becomes a target. The second season of The Devil's Hour is set to premier sometime in 2024.

While audiences may have been disappointed by Jessica Raine's decision to leave Call the Midwife after only three seasons, the character continued to live on through the reflective narrative of each episode's beginning and end. Jessica Raine may always be Jenny Lee in some fans' eyes, but the actor has made quite a name for herself in the years since her departure. Raine clearly has a bright future ahead as her career continues to unfold.