Call the Midwife on BBC First, Vera and Endeavor on ITV Choice renewed for further seasons in the United Kingdom.

Three British drama series, Call the Midwife from the BBC seen on BBC First (DStv 119), as well as Vera and Endeavor from ITV seen on ITV Choice (DStv 123) have been renewed for further seasons in the United Kingdom.

While the 9th season of Call the Midwife is about to start production in the United Kingdom, the BBC has renewed the series for a 10th and an 11th season that will be set in the late 1960s.

The 10th and 11 seasons will each have 8 episodes, as well as the usual Christmas specials.

"Even after all these years, it still feels as though Call the Midwife has more truth to tell, more tears to cry, more life to celebrate, and more love to give," says Heidi Thomas, executive producer, creator and writer of Call the Midwife.

"We are blessed with the best cast, crew and audience a show could wish for and I could not be more excited about our future."

Meanwhile ITV has renewed the Inspector Morse prequel, Endeavor with Shaun Evans, produced by ITV Studios's Mammoth Screen, for a 7th season. Endeavor's 7th season will take place in 1970 with production that will start later this year.

The 6th season of Endeavor started in February on Wednesdays at 20:00 on ITV Choice. 

Vera with Brenda Blethyn produced by ITV Studios' Silverprint and also seen on ITV Choice, will start production in April on 4 new film-length episodes.

BBC First on DStv does a rerun in April with a rejigged daytime schedule, showing previous seasons of several British drama series.

Nearly two weeks into April already, BBC Studios is announcing in a badly done press release (that was clearly not read through) that its BBC First (DStv 119) channel on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV platform has a new daytime schedule since the beginning of the month.

BBC Studios says April sees BBC First "bring its favourite faces to its new daytime schedule".

BBC First viewers who will "now be able to indulge with some of the BBC most charming characters including from the nuns and midwives of Nonnatus House, East London through to the detective team on the island of Saint-Maire led by DI Jack Mooney". 

Almost two weeks in, BBC Studios says "for the duration of April, South Africa will be able to sit back and binge on iconic hospital dramas Holby City and Casualty, the hugely popular detective series Death in Paradise and Father Brown and heart-warming family drama series Call the Midwife".

Season 4, 5 and 6 of Death in Paradise is shown on weekdays at 12:00 on BBC Brit following Jack Mooney on the island of Saint Marie where he tries to solve mysteries and murders.

The first to 5th seasons of Father Brown is shown on weekdays at 12:55 on BBC First, based on the stories of GK Chesterton and following a crime-solving priest in the fictional Cotswold village of Kembleford in the 1950's.

Seasons 5 to 7 of Call the Midwife is broadcast on weekdays at 13:40 on BBC First, also set in the fifties and based on Jennifer Worth's memoirs about nuns helping pregnant women about to give birth and families in East London. 

The 29th season of Casualty can be seen on weekdays at 14:40 on BBC First in the world's longest-running medical soap filled with emergencies, romances and drama.

The 19th season of Holby City is on BBC First on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 14:40. This award-winning medical drama follows the lives of the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital.

Atlantis commissioned as a new TV drama by BBC; Call the Midwife renewed for a 3rd season.

The BBC has commissioned a brand-new TV drama entitled Atlantis; whilst the 1950's BBC drama Call the Midwife which just started on BBC Entertainment (DStv 120) in South Africa on DStv has been renewed for a third season.

The BBC will start filming on Atlantis, based on the Greek myth about a fabled city in April and Atlantis will be filmed in Wales and Marocco. Atlantis will have a first season of 13 episodes and was created by Howard Overman who also created the British drama Merlin.