Call the Midwife star Jessica Raine in contract dilemma With the leading role in Call the Midwife, the BBC's most successful new drama series, Jessica Raine is one of television's hottest properties. The previously unknown Welsh actress tells Mandrake that she has, however, been presented with a thorny dilemma. The BBC is trying to persuade her to sign a contract that would commit her to appearing in an unprecedented eight more series of the programme. Flattered though she is, Raine, 26, has ambitions for a film career and is unsure that she wants to be tied down for almost 10 years. "The BBC want me to sign to do eight more series, but it's not all done and dusted yet," she says at the first night of Beyond Ballets Russes at the London Coliseum. I think I might, but it's very much up in the air at the moment. She adds: "I definitely want to do more films. Unfortunately, my ultimate role is gone, as that would have been Ripley in Alien. I love the science-fiction genre and it would also be fun to do comedy, as, with the success of Bridesmaids, we need a British equivalent.