Call the Midwife is set to introduce two new characters to its main cast as filming for the 13th series gets underway.

Two new pupil midwives will join Nonnatus House who will be played by Renee Bailey and Natalie Quarry.

Bailey will play Joyce Highland, from Trinidad and is described as hardworking, bright and kind, but also with a traumatic past that she cannot conceal forever.

Meanwhile, Quarry will play Rosalind Clifford who is described as warm, passionate and funny.

The new series, which will be set in 1969, will consist of eight hour-long episodes to air in 2024.

What storylines will Call the Midwife explore for 13th series

The show will continue to explore complex medical and personal situations on the midwifery and district nursing rounds and will see stories from within the Sylheti and Nigerian communities and from around the docks.

Additionally, it will go over issues surrounding cerebral palsy, congenital hip dysplasia, tetanus, porphyria and TB.

Creator and writer Heidi Thomas said: “After so many years, our much-loved regular characters are like family to me – and our wonderful fans so often tell me that they feel the same.

“I know they will be as thrilled as I am that series 13 of Call the Midwife is full of beautiful moments that celebrate the young, the old, and the precious ties that bind them.

Glasgow Times: The two newcomers will join Megan Cusack, Linda Bassett and Helen George among the main castThe two newcomers will join Megan Cusack, Linda Bassett and Helen George among the main cast (Image: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Nicky Johnston)

Executive producer Dame Pippa Harris added: “We’re so excited to be back for our 13th series, with all the treasured Nonnatus team returning – and also to welcome Renee and Natalie to the cast.

“They’re a wonderful addition to the show and I can’t wait for the audience to meet Joyce and Rosalind and to follow their journeys, by bicycle, through the streets and lives of Poplar’s residents.

“There’s so much in store for our audience this series, thanks to the perennial brilliance of Heidi Thomas, whose stories interweave joy, despair, love, history and medicine with a gorgeously diverse array of newborn babies.”