CALL The Midwife’s Helen George got a hug and a kiss from co-star Olly Rix at a late-night party — as the pair grow close following splits from their partners.
The pair, who play on-screen lovers Trixie Frankie and Matthew Aylward, spent two hours together at an afterparty for The King and I in London’s West End on Wednesday.
It came after Olly, 36, told The Sun on Sunday that Helen, 39, was “amazing and fantastic” in her role as teacher Anna Leonowens in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical at the Dominion Theatre.
Following her performance, Helen slipped into a see-through, black lace dress for the late-night bash.
An onlooker said: “Helen made a beeline for Olly as she arrived at the afterparty.
“The pair spent all evening together with Olly putting his hand on her back as she chatted to her fellow cast members.
“At one point, two people switched seats on a sofa so Olly and Helen could sit next to each other.
“He was clearly very protective of Helen as he put his hand around the back of her chair.
“Helen wanted to stay out with her girls so Olly hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before he left.”
Elsewhere Call The Midwife cast members Jenny Agutter, who plays Sister Julienne, Megan Cusack, who stars as Ann ‘Nancy’ Corrigan, and Annabelle Apsion — Councillor Violet Buckle in the drama — also attended the late-night bash at the Arcade Food Hall and Bar.
Helen, who arrived at the party at 11pm, left in a black minibus with her pals at 1am before heading to the Phoenix Arts Club in Soho.
Speaking about Helen before the show, Olly told The Sun on Sunday: “She is amazing and fantastic in the role and born to play it. It’s great watching Helen on stage — it is the second time I have seen her.
“We all saw her in Richmond and quite a few of the Call The Midwife cast are here tonight which is always great fun.”
Asked if he helped her with the script, he said: “I am completely unqualified to help her with any acting notes for a musical but we have helped each other with self tapes before.”
In November, Helen was spotted leaving Olly’s house in West London.
She was carrying a large bag and had her dog, Charlie, on a hands-free dog lead.
It came four months after she announced her split from actor partner Jack Ashton, 36, whom she met on the BBC show in 2014.
The couple have two children together.
At about the same time, as exclusively revealed in the Sun on Sunday, Olly split from his make-up artist girlfriend Natasha Fagri after seven years together.
A TV insider told the Sun on Sunday: “It’s been a tricky year for both Helen and Olly.
“They have been spending a lot of time together on set, walking their dogs together and chatting a lot.
“They both have respect for each other as actors and they are supportive of each other and dedicated to their roles in the drama.
“The changes in their relationships have caused a lot of upheaval.”
Fans watched last year as Olly and Helen’s on-screen characters married in a season finale.
The current series will end on a cliffhanger, with Helen’s character, Trixie, deciding to leave.
It comes after we previously revealed Olly was to be written out of the show.
However, his sudden departure was said to have shocked his cast mates.
Asked about leaving the popular drama, Olly teased: “You will have to wait until the end of the series — there are a few bumps in the road.”
And speaking about his future plans, Olly suggested he might be heading across the Atlantic, saying: “I’ll be doing some… American stuff, I think.”
Our insider said: “Scriptwriters will send shockwaves through the fanbase in the new series as Helen and Olly’s future on the show looks shaky. Olly’s departure has left the cast and crew stunned and upset.
“They all thought he was a series mainstay after his prominent wedding scenes to Helen last season.
“Now Helen’s character commits to leaving the East London setting in the final episode, following her on-screen husband.”
Previously, Olly described glimpsing Helen in her white dress during the show’s wedding scene as a “heart-stopping moment”.
He told ITV’s Lorraine: “It was a busy day and lots and lots of people in the church and there wasn’t much time to put a plan in place, but I did everything I could to make sure I didn’t see Helen before she arrived on set.
“I had no idea what the dress was going to look like.
“I spoke to the guys dropping us down there and I said, ‘Please make sure we don’t cross paths, I don’t want to see her until I see her walking down the aisle.’
“And, amazingly, it worked and it was a bit of a heart-stopping moment.”
Asked about marriage earlier this year in an interview about the wedding storyline, he told Digital Spy: “As I get older, I look at people and I think, ‘You’re not married to the right person. You’ve not had a family with the right person’.
“We all kind of compromise and we all deal with the fact that time’s running away. We play the hand we’re dealt.”
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