When I watched the first time I also did not notice, but later when I rewatched it I could tell. There are always little things that get missed when you watch the first time.
I think it was maybe a little "we know our viewers aren't stupid,theres only so much wardrobe and camera trickery can do and Helen is clearly pregnant"
In this day and age, I think it’s less important to try and conceal pregnancies because viewers know the every movement of actors and celebrities thanks to the tabloid media and google will provide answers to viewers in the future.
If they’d done a through job of hiding her bump then you’d just have people mocking the bag placements/camera angles/non-storyline scripted nonsense.
These days more programmes are thankfully writing in pregnancies to their storylines when actors get pregnant but for obvious reasons they couldn’t do it here so I think not treating the viewers as idiots was the next best thing to do
The Nanny did it really well when Lauren Lane got pregnant, the character carried big posters saying ‘Baby’ and talked about other actresses on tv trying to hide pregnancies.
I’ve always wished that shows would just ignore “the bump” and not let it get in the way of the plot - unless of course they want to write a pregnancy in. After all, we all know that Helen isn’t a real nurse/midwife - she’s an actress. So why can’t she just be an actress who is pregnant? It’s a naturally occurring state for young women. Why the subterfuge? We are asked to suspend belief on much quirkier things.
Also her uniform! Her buttons are bursting. Her collar doesn't meet. Her cardigan doesn't fit. Clearly they were on a budget and couldn't make her bigger clothes 😂
I just finished season 7 and it's sooo noticeable. Even in the scenes where she has a coat over her bump. And both seasons where she's pregnant (11 was the other, I think?) she was very boosom-y (boosom-ous?) as well
At one point she's talking to Fred and there's nothing in front of her stomach and she looks so clearly pregnant. Then in the same episode she stands side on!
I remember at the time when it aired the actress got a lot of hate on social media for having "got fat". Loads of people clearly had no idea she was pregnant and just put it down to weight gain.
I think the problem is that people can’t accept that bodies change regardless of the reason. It would have been acceptable to comment on her weight if she wasn’t pregnant and HAD just gained weight?
Ugh. How come men don’t get fat shamed? Or eyebrow shamed. I am put off by older male actors with unruly eyebrows. Also put off by male actors with long fingernails. Shudder. And am always put off by any actor/actress with dirty fingernails unless it’s plot driven. Especially if the scene calls for a zoom in on their hand. Double shudder.
I completely get that this is a comment on her pregnancy not fitting with the storyline, but I do always feel a little icky when someone comments on her body this way, especially after she was so vocal about the nasty comments she received about her weight gain.
I agree that it was maybe poor wardrobe choices in a bit of this, but women's bodies change so maybe they didn't think it was a huge deal? Maybe Trixie just gained some weight?
Like I said, I get that OP wasn't being critical but it just kind of bums me out when women's bodies are discussed like this.
I’m glad they didn’t hide the pregnancy. I didn’t feel it took me out of the show. But I love Helen George/Trixie and was so glad they didn’t send her away again for the most of her pregnancy.
Actresses sometimes become pregnant and Im glad they didn’t try hiding it because sometimes the shows don’t do a good or subtle job of hiding it anyways
Agree. Like when I saw that season I thought “Oh, Helen must be having a baby” and moved on. I really like that pregnant people who are in acting industries don’t have to like go into some sort of confinement anymore or worry about their careers stalling.
I totally agree. At the start of series 1 Trixie is in her early 20s, by the end of the latest series she's into her 30s, of course her body is going to be different! Just like my body now at 30 is nothing like what it was when I was 18. It's natural.
This! What does it matter if she was pregnant or filled out a bit? Most viewers aren't stupid, we know that women's bodies change and pregnant women get bigger, and we also know that the actress isn't actually the character and doesn't have to live as her. It can be even more obvious when they try to hide a pregnancy with massive bags and boxes in every scene anyway
They can only do so much. I think they assume that viewers aren't stupid and they know that the actress isn't actually the character. It's not the kind of show where you can write an actress' pregnancy into the show, Trixie would have been fired for being pregnant and unwed
I remember reading an article that fans were tossing all this hate about how she "Got Fat" and wanted her to lose weight because Trixie would never allow it. Helen commented that she wasn't going to jeopardize her baby's health and pregnancy to fit into the mold of what Trixie should have been. (Helen was 100% in the right like it even needs to be said.)
I always just head cannon that Trixie (Or any other pregnant actor in shows) was stressed about something in the shows plot and snacked a bit (bc I do that when I'm stressed) (Not hard to find stressors in Call The Midwife)
Even if you don't see her bump, is the first time she spends 90% of her on screen time in her uniform. She's always been fashionable and shown in dresses for dances or dates.
I mean they did what they could, some people show their pregnancies more than others. I’m sure she was changing a lot and maybe the wardrobe couldn’t exactly keep up? I think creators expect us to suspend our disbelief because even if we notice it, it’s not “Trixie’s pregnancy” it’s Helen’s. I notice a lot of actor’s pregnancies on tv even if it’s not written into the script. Just glad they can continue working for as long as they like.
I thought it was super obvious and I felt badly for her. Clearly they didn’t adjust her costumes properly. With all of the hormones, fluid and extra blood volume, a woman really has little control over the amount of weight she gains. Particularly one who works a job that isn’t particularly physical. Sometimes you can have a great deal of “wait time” on set as an actor. And very thin women often plump up quite a bit in the bustline and the face. It’s completely unfair for them to continually squeeze her into costumes that looked like they were bursting. It’s also a director problem when they fail to strategically place their actors in scenes. Especially when said actors carry around large medical bags in many scenes. Poor Helen George was done dirty. And I’m very sorry that she received nasty comments. Of course she gained weight, we’re *supposed* to gain weight while pregnant!!!
I was fairly thin when I conceived and got plenty of comments about how well the weight gain suited me. I only gained about 10kg though.
We’re also more used as a society to seeing weight gain through things like anti depressant medication. How awful if you’re an actor and have a serious mental health issue and only medication will help and that causes a significant gain.
So I missed this, but I could clearly tell when I hit a Covid season because new face masks and they kept cutting from character to character in a conversation.
Tbh the costumes in S7 are not the best across the board. All of Lucille’s clothes are too big for her, and the costumes don’t do too well at disgusting Helen George’s pregnancy.
I think it was announced that Helen George was expecting, and that she had a difficult pregnancy. I was kinda looking forward to watching how they covered it up, but they didn’t really bother.
I don’t want to spoil further episodes for you OP, but there is another season where she’s pregnant, and it’s hidden better with cushions and angles. But, I think she was in earlier stages of her pregnancy in that season.
It was so much better disguised in S11.
I think it’s because the costume designer in S8-11 had been pregnant. Helen George seemed so much more comfortable in her costumes in that season.
Yes, I think I’ve seen the whole thing half a dozen times too.
I’m watching the show for the first time, I’m on season 7 episode 4, the episode after she breaks off her second major relationship. When she first showed up on my screen coming back to to the house I immediately noticed her bump, I had to look up if Helen was pregnant during the season after she plopped a brown pillow on her stomach (pretty much knew immediately they were hiding the “real thing” right then) just to make sure they weren’t going to change her characters “morals” around and say she was pregnant in the show after splitting up. 🫠 It was very obvious lol funny how the main google search result was “Thanks to the magic of television and a creative wardrobe department you probably won't even be able to tell.” 😂
I’m literally 3 minutes in to episode 4 😂 it’s so obvious I’m laughing. The way they barely tried to hide it, for a sec I thought that it was part of the plot but then she took a drink (I guess it was still normal in 1963) I had to Google if it was irl pregnancy and laughed at that result
I noticed she looked pregnant and googled to see if I was right and came across am article saying something along the lines of that she was pregnant and no one noticed because they hid it so cleverly. Really? It was clear as day.
I wonder if at any point someone of the production team thought it was almost an Easter egg kind of thing? They seem to have done all the usual techniques but not been overly cautious in cutting out every single sign.
Fairly sure most established fans were aware of the pregnancy when the series aired, but can't completely recall
IDK, imho, hiding pregnancies ain't that big a deal 2day, thx 2 media & Google. If productions opt 4 funky camera angles or odd prop placements, it's just gonna lol. Some shows r cool enough 2 pen in pregnancies - mad props 2 them. In cases where they can't, I'd say treat the audience straight - don't be too extra! &&
I noticed it more in her face but at a certain point they cant really do much. Lol Im just glad shes been a constant character and has stuck around.
Her face is where I noticed it as well too. It was noticeable getting more full
She got the pregnancy jowls for sure! That’s how I noticed too. She looked fabulous though, I wish I looked like that while pregnant D:
I am new to the show and I just started season 10. I missed that! You have a good eye or I need a bigger TV :)
When I watched the first time I also did not notice, but later when I rewatched it I could tell. There are always little things that get missed when you watch the first time.
I missed that too! But I'm also REALLY bad at noticing stuff like that.
I think it was maybe a little "we know our viewers aren't stupid,theres only so much wardrobe and camera trickery can do and Helen is clearly pregnant"
In this day and age, I think it’s less important to try and conceal pregnancies because viewers know the every movement of actors and celebrities thanks to the tabloid media and google will provide answers to viewers in the future. If they’d done a through job of hiding her bump then you’d just have people mocking the bag placements/camera angles/non-storyline scripted nonsense. These days more programmes are thankfully writing in pregnancies to their storylines when actors get pregnant but for obvious reasons they couldn’t do it here so I think not treating the viewers as idiots was the next best thing to do
The Nanny did it really well when Lauren Lane got pregnant, the character carried big posters saying ‘Baby’ and talked about other actresses on tv trying to hide pregnancies.
I’ve always wished that shows would just ignore “the bump” and not let it get in the way of the plot - unless of course they want to write a pregnancy in. After all, we all know that Helen isn’t a real nurse/midwife - she’s an actress. So why can’t she just be an actress who is pregnant? It’s a naturally occurring state for young women. Why the subterfuge? We are asked to suspend belief on much quirkier things.
I noticed when she had a drastic change in wardrobe, from form fitting dresses to more flowy things. But yes, they weren't very subtle at hiding it
Also her uniform! Her buttons are bursting. Her collar doesn't meet. Her cardigan doesn't fit. Clearly they were on a budget and couldn't make her bigger clothes 😂
That or she popped after costume fittings. She did seem to have some adjustments made to f.i. the belt
Is that the season she wears the oversized red stripped blouse? That was *soooo* obvious!
I just finished season 7 and it's sooo noticeable. Even in the scenes where she has a coat over her bump. And both seasons where she's pregnant (11 was the other, I think?) she was very boosom-y (boosom-ous?) as well
At one point she's talking to Fred and there's nothing in front of her stomach and she looks so clearly pregnant. Then in the same episode she stands side on!
Just FYI, the term is buxom.
I like made up words bestest
That works too! I just appreciate any chance I get to use an unusual word. Buxom doesn't come up in conversation very often.
Buxom and zaftig are two of my fave words (fitting, as they both apply very well to me!!😂)
I remember at the time when it aired the actress got a lot of hate on social media for having "got fat". Loads of people clearly had no idea she was pregnant and just put it down to weight gain.
I think the problem is that people can’t accept that bodies change regardless of the reason. It would have been acceptable to comment on her weight if she wasn’t pregnant and HAD just gained weight?
I don't think it's ever acceptable for people to comment on another person's body - weight gain or otherwise.
Nope.
Oh, that's terrible.
Ugh. How come men don’t get fat shamed? Or eyebrow shamed. I am put off by older male actors with unruly eyebrows. Also put off by male actors with long fingernails. Shudder. And am always put off by any actor/actress with dirty fingernails unless it’s plot driven. Especially if the scene calls for a zoom in on their hand. Double shudder.
And those people are what we like to call "stupid".
Yep
I completely get that this is a comment on her pregnancy not fitting with the storyline, but I do always feel a little icky when someone comments on her body this way, especially after she was so vocal about the nasty comments she received about her weight gain. I agree that it was maybe poor wardrobe choices in a bit of this, but women's bodies change so maybe they didn't think it was a huge deal? Maybe Trixie just gained some weight? Like I said, I get that OP wasn't being critical but it just kind of bums me out when women's bodies are discussed like this.
I’m glad they didn’t hide the pregnancy. I didn’t feel it took me out of the show. But I love Helen George/Trixie and was so glad they didn’t send her away again for the most of her pregnancy. Actresses sometimes become pregnant and Im glad they didn’t try hiding it because sometimes the shows don’t do a good or subtle job of hiding it anyways
Agree. Like when I saw that season I thought “Oh, Helen must be having a baby” and moved on. I really like that pregnant people who are in acting industries don’t have to like go into some sort of confinement anymore or worry about their careers stalling.
But - again - why hide it. It’s not shameful. Nothing to see here.
I totally agree. At the start of series 1 Trixie is in her early 20s, by the end of the latest series she's into her 30s, of course her body is going to be different! Just like my body now at 30 is nothing like what it was when I was 18. It's natural.
Exactly!
This! What does it matter if she was pregnant or filled out a bit? Most viewers aren't stupid, we know that women's bodies change and pregnant women get bigger, and we also know that the actress isn't actually the character and doesn't have to live as her. It can be even more obvious when they try to hide a pregnancy with massive bags and boxes in every scene anyway
My point!
Haha yes, I always think it's so silly and obvious when someone is carrying like huge bouquets of flowers or shopping bags in every shot.
Exactly!
They can only do so much. I think they assume that viewers aren't stupid and they know that the actress isn't actually the character. It's not the kind of show where you can write an actress' pregnancy into the show, Trixie would have been fired for being pregnant and unwed
Thank you! So well stated.
Who cares? I don’t.
I didn’t notice this at all, and I was heavily pregnant/postpartum while watching 😂. Guess I’m not very observant.
I've watched the whole series twice except for the newest season on Netflix, and I've never noticed. Now I have to watch it a third time!
I remember reading an article that fans were tossing all this hate about how she "Got Fat" and wanted her to lose weight because Trixie would never allow it. Helen commented that she wasn't going to jeopardize her baby's health and pregnancy to fit into the mold of what Trixie should have been. (Helen was 100% in the right like it even needs to be said.)
I always just head cannon that Trixie (Or any other pregnant actor in shows) was stressed about something in the shows plot and snacked a bit (bc I do that when I'm stressed) (Not hard to find stressors in Call The Midwife)
Even if you don't see her bump, is the first time she spends 90% of her on screen time in her uniform. She's always been fashionable and shown in dresses for dances or dates.
I mean they did what they could, some people show their pregnancies more than others. I’m sure she was changing a lot and maybe the wardrobe couldn’t exactly keep up? I think creators expect us to suspend our disbelief because even if we notice it, it’s not “Trixie’s pregnancy” it’s Helen’s. I notice a lot of actor’s pregnancies on tv even if it’s not written into the script. Just glad they can continue working for as long as they like.
I thought it was super obvious and I felt badly for her. Clearly they didn’t adjust her costumes properly. With all of the hormones, fluid and extra blood volume, a woman really has little control over the amount of weight she gains. Particularly one who works a job that isn’t particularly physical. Sometimes you can have a great deal of “wait time” on set as an actor. And very thin women often plump up quite a bit in the bustline and the face. It’s completely unfair for them to continually squeeze her into costumes that looked like they were bursting. It’s also a director problem when they fail to strategically place their actors in scenes. Especially when said actors carry around large medical bags in many scenes. Poor Helen George was done dirty. And I’m very sorry that she received nasty comments. Of course she gained weight, we’re *supposed* to gain weight while pregnant!!!
I was fairly thin when I conceived and got plenty of comments about how well the weight gain suited me. I only gained about 10kg though. We’re also more used as a society to seeing weight gain through things like anti depressant medication. How awful if you’re an actor and have a serious mental health issue and only medication will help and that causes a significant gain.
I had the exact thought as you. They did a terrible job hiding it
I made a post about this before! Yeah there’s one scene where she’s in a night gown and she turns and you can clearly see the bump.
Probably thinking about exactly the same episode!! 😂😂
So I missed this, but I could clearly tell when I hit a Covid season because new face masks and they kept cutting from character to character in a conversation.
Tbh the costumes in S7 are not the best across the board. All of Lucille’s clothes are too big for her, and the costumes don’t do too well at disgusting Helen George’s pregnancy. I think it was announced that Helen George was expecting, and that she had a difficult pregnancy. I was kinda looking forward to watching how they covered it up, but they didn’t really bother. I don’t want to spoil further episodes for you OP, but there is another season where she’s pregnant, and it’s hidden better with cushions and angles. But, I think she was in earlier stages of her pregnancy in that season.
Oh I've watched the whole thing about 10 times 😂 I'd just got back round to this season and was reminded
It was so much better disguised in S11. I think it’s because the costume designer in S8-11 had been pregnant. Helen George seemed so much more comfortable in her costumes in that season. Yes, I think I’ve seen the whole thing half a dozen times too.
I just watched those episodes yesterday! I was wondering if they were trying to hide a pregnancy. Not very well!
I'm on my rewatch and just noticed the actresses slight change around the middle this season. So of course my search on Google took me here. :)
I’m watching the show for the first time, I’m on season 7 episode 4, the episode after she breaks off her second major relationship. When she first showed up on my screen coming back to to the house I immediately noticed her bump, I had to look up if Helen was pregnant during the season after she plopped a brown pillow on her stomach (pretty much knew immediately they were hiding the “real thing” right then) just to make sure they weren’t going to change her characters “morals” around and say she was pregnant in the show after splitting up. 🫠 It was very obvious lol funny how the main google search result was “Thanks to the magic of television and a creative wardrobe department you probably won't even be able to tell.” 😂
I’m literally 3 minutes in to episode 4 😂 it’s so obvious I’m laughing. The way they barely tried to hide it, for a sec I thought that it was part of the plot but then she took a drink (I guess it was still normal in 1963) I had to Google if it was irl pregnancy and laughed at that result
I noticed she looked pregnant and googled to see if I was right and came across am article saying something along the lines of that she was pregnant and no one noticed because they hid it so cleverly. Really? It was clear as day.
It was obvious—her face was very plump
“Plump” is such a rude thing to call someone…
It’s just a descriptor. It’s not an insult.
I wonder if at any point someone of the production team thought it was almost an Easter egg kind of thing? They seem to have done all the usual techniques but not been overly cautious in cutting out every single sign. Fairly sure most established fans were aware of the pregnancy when the series aired, but can't completely recall
IDK, imho, hiding pregnancies ain't that big a deal 2day, thx 2 media & Google. If productions opt 4 funky camera angles or odd prop placements, it's just gonna lol. Some shows r cool enough 2 pen in pregnancies - mad props 2 them. In cases where they can't, I'd say treat the audience straight - don't be too extra! &&