Call the Midwife: Helen George recalls early days on the show

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And she exclusively tells the Daily Express of her pride in the NHS during Covid and how her Sister Julienne character would have struggled to cope in the pandemic. We are fighting alongside PKU campaigners for the NHS to offer the drug Kuvan to those with the genetic condition, to drastically boost their quality of life. In this Sunday’s episode of the BBC period drama Julienne uncovers rare PKU in a sick young girl after investigating why she was failing to flourish.

Set in 1966, no drug existed then to help PKU patients – who must avoid protein in their foods for fear of suffering long-term brain damage.

Now Jenny, 68, has backed our Kuvan plea as 55 years later a drug does exist – but for years the NHS have refused to buy it.

‘The Railway Children’ actress told the Daily Express: “If people can take Kuvan it’s paramount they have it.

“PKU can so dramatically affect patients’ lives and I hope at some point this will go through. The Daily Express are right to ask.

“It’s very frustrating that patients can be held back from doing what they want to do in life because they can’t have access to these important drugs.

“It would make a big difference if you can control PKU with drugs and get on with your life in a much simpler way.”

PKU sufferers endure a severely-restricted diet, as too much protein causes brain damage, so avoid meat, fish, eggs, dairy and some vegetables.

For 12 years US firm BioMarin’s drug ‘Kuvan’ could have eased the agony of those with PKU – but has not been available on the NHS.

Drugs appraiser NICE is now proposing to let children have Kuvan but not adults, so to save cash youngsters will have to taking it on their 18th birthday.

In Call The Midwife a pregnant mum, played by ex-Corrie star Paula Lane, is examined by Jenny’s Sister Julienne who notices her ill young daughter.

The nun worries that the child Elaine is barely speaking and not walking and raises it with Doctor Turner (Stephen McGann) who finally diagnoses PKU.

But that leaves Paula Lane’s mum terrified for her unborn child – in case that too is born with the genetic condition.

To ensure an accurate portrayal of PKU – one of several genetic diseases now tested for at birth with a heel-prick test – the BBC were advised by charity NSPKU.

Jenny admitted she always runs medical matters in her script past her son Jonathan Tham, as he’s a frontline GP.

But one genetic condition featured on the show that she’s never needed to research is cystic fibrosis (CF) – as her own niece Rachel has it.

The Daily Express, alongside Jenny and Rachel, crusaded for two years to successfully secure lifesaving drug Kaftrio for CF sufferers across the UK.

Jenny told us: “Like CF, PKU is a cruel disease when you think about what it does to the human body.

“You see people on ordinary diets throwing their hands up in the air in despair because they can’t eat what they want to eat.

“But with PKU you can’t give it up as without Kuvan your diet is your only lifeline, and you have to stick with it every hour of every day.”

As a patron of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, for decades Jenny has been a vocal campaigner for the rights of those born with genetic conditions.

In 2019 she helped Call The Midwife cover CF carefully when in a heart-rending episode, a mum was distraught as her child refused to drink, lost weight and caught infections.

CF causes sticky mucus to clog up a sufferer’s lungs, easily catch nasty bugs and find it hard to keep weight on.

Seeing the baby’s plight, the midwives and nuns were at a loss as to what was wrong, until Sister Monica Joan (played by Judy Parfitt) kissed the baby and he tasted of salt – a CF side effect.

Rachel, 42, who has now been on Kaftrio for 16 months, told us: “I’m doing really well and not needed intravenous antibiotics for nearly two years.

“It’s crazy how you quickly get used to living ‘normally’ again and forget how terrible you felt before.”

Her aunt Jenny added: “When you think about when she was born over 40 years ago the prognosis was dire.

“It was very scary for anyone diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Rachel is such a fighter.

“The CF Trust said after that Call The Midwife episode was aired, they had never had so many website visits, it had a wonderful impact.”

The role of the NHS has never been in the spotlight as has been during the pandemic, with jenny so proud of the profession and her own son.

She went on: “I think the NHS are extraordinary and they deserve the biggest pay rise! I’m a very proud mum with my son working on the frontline.

“There are two things that are important in our health and education. Tax me however you want to and put that money into those two things.

“I had my vaccination a couple of months ago. I went to the place and 15 minutes I was done and out the door – the beautifully organised NHS.”

Jenny explained how the lockdowns have been difficult to endure, adding: “We are social animals but oddly I have been more in contact with people than usual with Zoom calls.

“You realise there is an animal thing about people’s presence which is important. Talking to someone, random meetings, chatting in the street.

“I have ended up having wonderful conversations with the Sainsbury’s delivery man and I found out wonderful things about them!”

Jenny’s starred in a number of blockbusters including The Railway Children, Logan’s Run, The Avengers, The Eagle Has Landed and An American Werewolf in London.

Created by Heidi Thomas and set in the east end of London, Call The Midwife has run for 10 series and Jenny’s starred in all of them.

But she tells us she is not ready to hang up Sister Julienne’s hat, or for a nun her veil and coif, as she adores the character so much.

Yet she fears Sister Julienne would have seriously struggled to deal with the effects of a Covid-style pandemic.

Jenny explained: “She likes people and Covid and its restrictions would have thrown her.

“To not be able to be close to people would have been hard and it would have been interesting to know about how she would have dealt with that.”

* Call The Midwife’s PKU episode is on Sunday May 16th on BBC One at 8pm.

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