Heidi Thomas is a British screenwriter and playwright, known for the TV and film adaptions of "Madame Bovary" (2000), "I Capture the Castle" (2003), "Ballet Shoes" (2007) and "Cranford" (2007-2009), as well as the creation of the BBC TV series "Lillies" (2007), "Upstairs Downstairs" (2010) and "Call the Midwife" (2012 - ). She has received several awards, among them the British Royal Television Society's Best Writer award and the British Broadcasting Press Guild Award for "Cranford". She has also been nominated for several BAFTA TV Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards. She is married to actor Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Turner in "Call the Midwife".