Call the Midwife’s Olly Rix engaged to Casualty co-star as he shares loved-up pic
Call the Midwife star Olly Rix has announced his engagement to his Casualty co-star Anna Chell. The loved-up couple, who co-star in Casualty as surgeon Flynn Byron and nurse Jodie Whyte, shared the exciting news on Instagram on Monday, 19 January.
Taking to the social media platform to confirm the happy update, Olly, 40, who played Matthew Aylward in Call the Midwife, shared a sweet photo alongside his new fiancee Anna, 29, as he lovingly planted a kiss on her forehead.
In the caption, Olly simply posted an engagement ring emoji, alongside a red heart, sending his followers into a frenzy.
Sammy Dobson, who plays Nicole Piper on Casualty, commented: “ARGHHHH!!!! THIS IS SO, SO LUSH!!! Congratulations!!!”.
One follower said: “Best news! Roll on the wedding”, while a third chimed in: “Congratulations to you both lots of love and happiness xx.” Another added: “This seems like a very exciting and fairly subtle announcement! Ooh. You guys are a thing!? More than a thing!!? As a fan of the show: congratulations, what a beautiful couple xx.”
Olly confirmed his romance with Anna in August 2025 when he shared a string of photos together, along with his Cocker Spaniel, Nellie. He penned the Instagram post: “Summer with Anna and Nellie”, leaving fans delighted.
The actor first appeared as Matthew in Call the Midwife back in 2021. The character was bumped up to a series regular in season 11 after becoming romantically involved with Trixie Franklin, played by Helen George.
However, after Matthew and Trixie’s wedding, Matthew left Poplar for a new life in New York due to financial difficulties, following Olly’s departure from the show in 2024. Trixie is still in character on the show and Olly was previously rumoured to be in a relationship with co-star Helen.
After his all the Midwife exit, he joined Casualty in early 2025 and reportedly met Anna on the set of the medical drama.
Olly said he was “taken aback” by how good Casualty was when he first watched it. He told BANG Showbiz: “I was absolutely blown away. I couldn’t believe how good it was. I thought – I don’t really know what I’m basing this on, but it somehow wasn’t what I was expecting. And I just take my hat off to it. It’s great. It’s very exciting…
“I thought the calibre of the performances and a lot of the cinematography, a lot of the way it was shot, a lot of the way it was lit, I thought were brilliant.
“I was genuinely taken aback. I thought I was watching any of the other fantastic BBC dramas that I would normally watch. I was surprised.”
Meanwhile, Anna’s first TV role was in the ITV drama The Bay, in which she played Kerry Lockwood in 2022. She was then cast as Jodie Whyte in Casualty back in 2023.