From playing the lovely vicar Tom Hereward in Call the Midwife to falling in love on set with his now, ex-partner Helen George and being dad to their children Wren and Lark, here's all you need to know about the actor Jack Ashton.
Jack Ashton in Call the Midwife
Jack first appeared on Call the Midwife in series three as the new Poplar curate, Reverend Tom Hereward. Since his arrival, he had a relationship with Trixie, played by Helen George, before their engagement was broken off in series four.
He then began a relationship with Nurse Barbara Gilbert (played by Charlotte Ritchie) and the pair got married at the end of series six.
One of the most memorable moments from the series is when the lovely Nurse Barbara passed away. We can all remember sobbing into soggy tissues the day that the episode aired.
Jack says filming her dying scenes were incredibly difficult, not least because they were shot just days after his daughter Wren was born and he was struggling with the lack of sleep.
In a recent interview he said: “Filming those scenes was emotional because we all love Charlotte. We knew we were acting – but we also knew we were saying goodbye…” He pauses. “It’s emotional thinking about it now… I was lamenting the loss of someone I care about and I’d just had a baby, so I started sobbing… with snot and tears everywhere. The director asked if I could stop and cry for the next take, but I didn’t think I could stop crying at all."
Why did Jack Ashton leave Call the Midwife?
After Barbara's tragic death, Jack's character Tom bid a sad farewell to Call the Midwife after four years on the show.
His character went off to Papua New Guinea to grieve for his wife. Talking about his exit, Tom said “I think it was more that it was just decided that it just felt like the right time for everybody.
“I think because obviously Tom had been through this kind of rollercoaster with Trixie (played by his then-partner Helen George) and then he’d sort of met the one with Barbara and then she’d so suddenly died.”
At the time of leaving the show, Tom had also just welcomed into his life his baby girl Wren and needed to take charge of childminding duties while his girlfriend at the time and former co-star Helen George returned to the show as Trixie.
But the big question is, will Tom ever return to the show? Very excitingly, there's a chance he just might be!
In a recent interview, Jack revealed he would “consider” returning to the much-loved Sunday night show, suggesting that perhaps Tom could come back “in 1970 with long hair and strange ideas”.
While Jack has admitted he found it hard to leave the show, he was still in regular contact with all of the the cast.
“Before lockdown, I still got to see a lot of the guys and we’re all friends separately anyway.”
He continued, “So I’m in a good situation where I’ve left, but I’m still close to the guys there, and I have to be because we all had a lovely shared experience, and that’s what’s brought us together as friends."
He's read a bedtime story to help during the pandemic
Jack recently joined in the Tonie Box campaign, recording himself reading The Ugly Five by Julia Donaldson to help children feel more connected during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as raising money for NHS Charities Together.
He said: "I’m in prime dad story reading mode at the moment, so when they approached me I said yes straight away because I thought I’ve had a bit of practice at this."
Jack Ashton and Helen George
Jack met his now ex-partner Helen George on the set of Call the Midwife when he was playing vicar Tom and she played Nurse Trixie Franklin.
In an interview Helen has revealed the pair grew especially close while filming scenes for the Christmas special in South Africa but their move from friendship to something more was "a slow process".
Helen George and Jack Ashton married in 2012, and they welcomed their first daughter, Wren Ivy, in 2017, followed by their second daughter, Lark, in 2021.
Jack Ashton cystic fibrosis fundraising
Although Jack Ashton doesn’t have cystic fibrosis, he has participated in many fundraising activities with the cast of Call the Midwife. This is because Jenny Agutter, who plays Sister Julienne, is a supporter of the charity and has the gene for cystic fibrosis in her own family.
Jack Ashton: movies and TV shows
Recently, you might have seen him starring in the detective series McDonald & Dodds alongside Jason Watkins.
You may also have seen Jack Ashton in Broadchurch, Endeavour, Holby City and the Children In Need special of Strictly Come Dancing.
In 2023, Jack Ashton joined The Archers (long-running radio soap opera) as Harry Chilcott.
Is Jack Ashton on Instagram?
Yes, he shares many photos of him and his family on Instagram as well as behind the scenes photos of TV series and films he is acting in. He also shares plenty of photos of his adorable dog.
How old is Jack Ashton?
Jack was born on 19th November 1986 in Bristol. His dad was an artist and sculptor and his mother worked in education. He has two sisters.
In February 2025, he announced the passing of his mother on Instagram, sharing fond memories and photos of her with his daughters.
Where is Jack Ashton from?
When he was a child he briefly lived in Burnham-on-Sea, before moving to Bedminster, Bristol. Now, the actor lives in London.
Lorna White is a Senior Digital Writer at Yours.co.uk. She was previously a writer at Yours Magazine writing features and news stories before joining the digital team. Lorna loves the great British countryside and likes to spend her spare time out and about in her home of Nottinghamshire walking her dog, Pippin.