Inside Call the Midwife star Cliff Parisi’s life from prison stint to EastEnders exit

Call the Midwife has returned to BBC One for the anticipated fourteenth series, and Cliff Parisi has reprised his role as Fred Buckle once more. Fred is the much loved handy man and shopkeeper who has been a staple on the show since the first series aired in 2012, and is always on hand to lend a kind ear.

The character is married councillor to Violet Buckle (Annabelle Apsion), and he has two daughters from a previous marriage, plus their adopted son Reggie, who is played by Daniel Laurie. Soap fans will know Parisi as loveable and kind hearted Minty Paterson who rolled up to Albert Square back in 2002.

He stayed on EastEnders for eight years until he was axed from the BBC show despite being a huge hit with viewers. Two years on from his Walford exit and soap star Cliff landed the role of happy-go-lucky Fred Buckle in Call the Midwife.

Soap fans will know the actor as Minty in EastEnders ( Image: BBC)

The 64-year-old also captured the nation’s hearts when he starred in I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here in 2019, and showed off his cooking skills in Celebrity MasterChef in 2022 .

Aside from EastEnders and Call the Midwife, Parisi has portrayed a long list of other roles in some of Britain’s most popular TV shows over the decades, including Casualty, Hollyoaks, Outnumbered, The Darling Buds of May, and London’s Burning.

His first acting role was in the 1989 comedy film Queen of Hearts as Manager. From there, the actor went on to appear in A Bit of Fry and Laurie in 1990 and KYTV in 1990 and 1993.

Between 1995 and 1996, Parisi played the role of Daniel Bentley in the ITV series Bramwell and looks completely unrecognisable as the doomed hospital porter. He sports darker hair, a beard, and a troubled look in an unearthed snap taken from the show in 1996.

Cliff Parisi played Daniel Bentley in the series Bramwell during the 1990s ( Image: Carlton Television)

The Victorian medical drama follows Dr. Eleanor Bramwell (Jemma Redgrave) who runs a free hospital for the poorest part of the East End. During season two there’s a cholera epidemic and Daniel Bentley falls unwell, and because of a miscalculation in medication dosages dies of poisoning. Bramwell broadcast on ITV for a total of four series between May 1995 and June 1998.

But Parisi’s rise to fame wasn’t smooth sailing. As a teenager, he was living in North London when he found himself in trouble with the law and banged up for committing a crime.

At the age of 19, he was jailed for a bank robbery in what the adored TV star called ‘a massive mistake’ that he ‘deeply regrets’. The father-of-four turned his life around and has built a successful acting career spanning decades.

Speaking about his past, Parisi once opened up to The Mirror, recounting: “At the age of 19, I went off the rails and got involved with a bank robbery and I was jailed for 18 months. During my incarceration, I spent my time learning how to read and write properly.”

He added: “After my release, I pursued my acting career with vigour and have been lucky enough to work professionally in acting for over 30 years. This has hung over me like a black cloud. It was a massive mistake that I made and I deeply regret it. I am relieved that it is now out and I hope that people will find it in their hearts to forgive me.

“No one regrets it more than I do. I also hope it inspires young men in jail not to give up hope. It is possible to get your life back on track again.”

Last year, Parisi revealed he had caught hypothermia during “difficult” filming conditions for the thirteenth series of Call the Midwife. Fans will recall the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House heading to the beach for some relaxation along with some of their dear friends.

But filming the scenes in September proved tricky for the production crew as Storm Agnes wreaked havoc at West Wittering.

Cliff Parisi and Daniel Laurie play Fred Buckle and Reggie Jackson on Call the Midwife ( Image: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)