Call The Midwife star Judy Parfitt recalls Sheffield upbringing with remarkable story of blitz spirit

The star of the hit BBC drama, who was born in Sheffield, has spoken of her upbringing in South Yorkshire and her wartime memories.

Parfitt was born in Sheffield in 1935 to to Lawrence and Catherine Parfitt, and she attended Notre Dame High School for Girls.

She went on to train at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts (RADA), graduating in 1953, before embarking on her hugely impressive stage and screen career.

Her many memorable roles include Mildred Layton in the 1984 ITV series The Jewel in the Crown, and Maria Thins in the 2003 film Girl with a Pearl Earring, both of which earned her BAFTA nominations.

She has also appeared in Tony Richardson's 1969 film version of Hamlet, the 1980 TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and the 1995 film of Stephen King's Dolores Claiborne, among numerous other movies and TV shows.

But she is today best known for Call The Midwife, having appeared in the much-loved drama since it first aired in 2012.

Recalling her early memories of growing up in Sheffield during the Second World War, she told Saga magazine: “Growing up in the war, I learned how people just got on with (things) despite food rationing, bombs dropping, not knowing if they'd be alive the next day.”

She once told The Times how during the second air raid on Sheffield, she hid under the dining room table before ‘making a dash’ for the shelter.

She has also described one episode during her childhood which summed up the so-called blitz spirit during the war.

“(My father held) me in his arms as Sheffield lit up around us because it was being blitzed - yet people still went to work the next day!” she said.

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