Staff at an East Ham community centre and some of the families they support were surprised by an online meeting with two stars of a hit BBC drama.

Linda Bassett and Stephen McGann - better known to fans of Call the Midwife as nurse Phyllis Crane and Dr Patrick Turner - joined a video call to find out more about the work of Bonny Downs Community Association.

Its Growing Strong project benefits from a £120,000 donation from BBC Children in Need, spread over three years, to cover a variety of costs that allow young families in the area to be supported.

This includes running term time groups for toddlers and primary school children, as well as summer holiday activities.

Staff have also helped families to access food, activity packs and other support during the coronavirus pandemic.

The actors spoke to Bonny Downs staff who explained that many of the families they support in Newham have been seriously affected by Covid-19, whether through contracting the virus or struggling financially or emotionally because of it.

Family support worker Stacey Cordery said: “When the virus struck, we quickly evolved into a distribution hub for anyone that needed us really, but our team focused on children and families, so we were delivering to families, people were coming to us for food and we fed, I think, more than 5,000 people within those weeks.”

Linda and Stephen also spoke to three mums who have been helped by Bonny Downs during the pandemic.

Linda said: “When people talk to us [about Call The Midwife] they often say they feel as if what we portray is in the past and they long for that sort of love and community feeling.

"What we’ve seen with these mothers and workers at Bonny Downs is that it’s not in the past - it’s living now, here, people are doing it and BBC Children in Need are funding it, and that’s a glorious thing.”

Stephen McGann added: “What impresses me about BBC Children in Need is their ability to reach into communities and support people who are right in the centre of the community, like Bonny Downs Community Association, and support them to be able to do what they do best.”