Emerald Fennell was a fan favorite on the BBC period drama Call the Midwife for more than four seasons. While viewers were sad to see her go after Season 6, Fennell went on to achieve success in other projects. But why did she leave behind nurse Patsy Mount, and what has she been doing since her final episode aired in 2017?
Call the Midwife is about a group of nurse-midwives who live in London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s (around the same time as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but with medicine). Patsy is one of many characters who have come and gone throughout the show's 11 seasons. Although other cast members ended their time on Call the Midwife through tragic character deaths, Nurse Patsy was more fortunate. Fennell left Call the Midwife with Patsy still alive. However, why did she depart in the first place?
Who Was Nurse Patsy Mount on Call the Midwife?
Call the Midwife's Delia Busby (Kate Lamb) looks toward Patsy Mount (Emerald Fennell) and smiles
Nurse Patsy first appeared on Call the Midwife in Season 2, when she was working as a nurse in a male surgical wing. In Season 3, she became part of the main cast when she joined Nonnatus House and quickly made friends with her roommate Beatrix Franklin. During her time on the show, her ferocious spirit, dry wit and progressive nature meant that audiences instantly fell in love with her. Speaking of love, Delia Busby made her debut as Patsy's girlfriend in Season 4. However, the two of them had to keep their relationship a secret from both friends and family due to society's views on the LGBTQ+ community at the time.
Patsy continued to be an important part of the series until Season 6. She received a letter from her dying father in Hong Kong, and departed to spend the last of his days with him, leaving Delia behind to continue her training as a midwife. The last time Patsy made an appearance was in Call the Midwife's Season 6 finale, in which she returned and was happily reunited with Delia. This is a welcome turn of events for viewers, especially after all the ups and downs the couple had gone through with having to hide their romance. In Season 7, it was mentioned that the two went off traveling together -- a better fate than other period-place fan-favorite characters.
Why Did Emerald Fennell Leave Call the Midwife?
Call the Midwife's Patsy Mount laughs while surrounded by Barbara, Helen and Sister Winifred
While Emerald Fennell isn't the first actress to have left Call the Midwife, she is one of the most missed. However, Fennell was able to achieve even more success after her departure. Fennell's reason for leaving the show in 2017 was to work as the head writer and showrunner for Season 2 of BBC America's tragic spy drama Killing Eve, for which she received two Primetime Emmy nominations. She expressed her appreciation to Call the Midwife for giving her the time to focus on her writing, saying on Twitter that she was "very sad that I'm not filming the wonderful CTM."
Fennell later played the Duchess of Cornwall in Season 3 of The Crown and received another Emmy nomination for her role in the Netflix series. Fennell's biggest project to date was directing and writing the Carey Mulligan-led thriller Promising Young Woman, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. While it seems unlikely that Nurse Patsy will make a return to Call the Midwife because of Fennell's other projects, viewers can be comforted by the fact that Patsy and Delia were given their own form of happily ever after through their off-screen exit.
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