East Enders

SHOCKING SECRET FOR YOU!! Call The Midwife star Daniel Laurie is the son of an EastEnders legend

Posted on by btv2025

Call The Midwife actor Daniel Laurie shares an incredible connection withan EastEnders legend.

The star, who portrays beloved Reggie Jackson in the BBC One period drama, is the son of Leslie Grantham, who played Den Watts in EastEnders.

What a connection!

Daniel’s first scenes as Reggie aired back in 2017. Following the death of his mum, Reggie travelled to Poplar and now lives with his uncle Fred Buckle (played by EastEnders legend Cliff Parisi).

Daniel’s dad Leslie, of course, is considered soap royalty, having portrayed Dirty Den for two memorable stints in EastEnders.

Den and wife Angie (Anita Dobson) were the original landlords of The Queen Vic, running the iconic boozer from the soap’s inception in 1985.

CALL THE MIDWIFE - CHRISTMAS 2019 BBC WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 07/12/2019 - Programme Name: Call The Midwife - TX: n/a - Episode: n/a (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: (L-R) Reggie (DANIEL LAURIE) - (C) Neal Street Productions - Photographer: Sophie Mutevelian
Daniel has played Reggie in Call The Midwife since 2017 (Picture: BBC / Neal Street Productions)

The character was ‘killed off’ just shy of the soap’s 4th anniversary in February 1989, but made a shocking return in 2003, taking Walford by storm once more.

Leslie was written out of EastEnders in 2005, with Den’s latest wife Chrissie (Tracy Ann Oberman) killing him, for real this time.

The actor died in 2018 at the age of 71.

Call the Midwife, which normally airs a Christmas Day special followed by a full series in January, is expected to return to screens later in the year.

After some confusion over the series’ fate, fans were left delighted earlier this year to learn that the future is bright for the BBC period drama.

Leslie Grantham as former EastEnders character Den Watts
Leslie played the iconic Den Watts when EastEnders first began (Picture: BBC)
Former EastEnders characters Angie and Den Watts
Den was married to Angie Watts (Picture: BBC)
The story will continue in a feature film, which will be set in 1972 in an unknown location, featuring familiar characters from the series.

Meanwhile, the upcoming prequel series will also feature younger versions of fan-favourite midwives.

On the prequel series, executive producer Heidi Thomas said: ‘The Blitz years in the East End were extraordinary – the bombs fell, the babies kept on coming, and the Sisters kept on going.

‘There will be so much in the prequel for our wonderful, loyal fans, including the appearance of some familiar (if much younger!) faces.’

Meanwhile, executive producer Dame Pippa Harris said of the feature film: ‘We have all been delighted by the way audiences have continued to embrace Heidi’s imaginative and moving stories from Nonnatus House.

‘Emboldened by this warmth and enthusiasm, now feels like the right time to expand our world and take our nuns and midwives onto the big screen with our movie, and back in time with the prequel!’