Call The Midwife star Victoria Yeates reveals her love of mince and tatties

Victoria, who plays Sister Winifred in the smash-hit series, had an early career boost in BBC Scotland-filmed drama Lip Service.

And on-set catering was both an eye opener and a surprise delight.

“It was my first time in Glasgow and I thought it was a beautiful city,” said Victoria, 32.

“But it was freezing when we were filming and I discovered mince and tatties. It was so yummy and I just loved having it.

“I’ve got so many great memories of Glasgow.”

There was no need for warming fare during filming of the festive special of Call The Midwife, which has become a Christmas night must-see.

It was actually shot in May with the cast now used to having to look cold amidst the fake snow.

It’s Christmas 1960 and there’s concern when Sister Monica Joan goes missing just as a BBC TV crew arrives to capture a carol concert.

This is the third year of Call The Midwife for Victoria and she admits being on the show has taken her to a whole new level.

“It’s a real game changer for your career,” she says. “It’s shown in something like 200 territories worldwide, which is just incredible.

“It gets five million viewers in America and that means you get seen for stuff over there that would never have been possible before.

“You tend to do things by Skype or on tape and I’m up for a couple of pilot shows. I’d rather go over there with a job rather than just going to see how it works out.

“It’s so strange to think the show is so big. We just go along and get changed in a trailer in a car park, act with some friends and go home.

“But what we do is seen everywhere.”

That means despite only her face peeping out from her wimple, red-haired Victoria has become used to being recognised.

“It’s OK in London because there are much more famous people than me,” she laughs. “But elsewhere people come up quite frequently. I’ve even been spotted in France and Germany.

“It’s always nice, though, because the show has such warmth and people love it so much.

“We were shown a letter from someone who’d written in to say that Call The Midwife had made her a more compassionate person. It had helped her believe in people a bit more.”

Central to the show, of course, are the birthing scenes and Victoria, who’ll be heading back to watch at home with her parents in Bournemouth, says they are a big deal.

“We have a real baby who everybody is cooing over and there’s a different atmosphere,” she adds. “It takes us about four hours to film a birth scene.”