Northern Irish actress Andrea Irvine was at the centre of one of the main storylines on Sunday night's Call the Midwife.
The Blue Lights star made her appearance on the hit BBC drama as it returned for its 14th series on January 6, playing an overbearing soon-to-be mother-in-law.
The Christmas special of the show saw fan-favourite nurse Nancy fall in love with Belfast boy and pharmaceutical salesman Roger Nobel, portrayed by Conor O'Donnell.
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With their whirlwind romance leading to a proposal and a wedding on the cards in the near future, Roger's mother Esther, played by Irvine, makes the journey over from Northern Ireland to meet her son's potential wife.
As the series takes place in March 1970, religion is undoubtedly a contentious issue for Esther who is not impressed with her son's choice to marry a Catholic woman who already had a child outside of marriage.
Esther confronted Nancy during an unexpected visit to Poplar, berating her by saying: "He implied you were respectable," which Nancy refuted strongly, insisting, "I am completely respectable."
But Esther relentlessly pursued, calling out, "You're an unmarried mother," to which Nancy retorted, "I was also reared by nuns and I still live in a convent."
Unmoved, Esther said, "It is of no consolation to me that you're Roman Catholic," before bombarding Nancy with criticisms and making it clear she believed Roger was making a grave error, Wales Online reports.
Miss Higgins (portrayed by Georgie Glen) stepped in to champion Nancy's side against the formidable Esther, who finally caved to her son Roger's decision to marry Nancy.
With the wedding planned for only six months down the line, fans are likely to see Esther feature again later in the series.
Call the Midwife currently airs every Sunday on BBC One and iPlayer at 8pm
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English (United States) ·