INSIDE THE BOX: ITV delivers new rival to Call The Midwife about the man behind Selfridge’s

By Dan Wootton PUBLISHED: 20:13 EST, 29 November 2012 | UPDATED: 20:13 EST, 29 November 2012 On call: Midwives star Jessica Raines After narrowly avoiding a Christmas Day clash of Britain’s most popular dramas, Call The Midwife and Downtown Abbey, a new — and more significant — scheduling war is looming between BBC and ITV.I’m told ITV is planning to launch its highly anticipated drama Mr Selfridge on Sunday nights in the New Year — sandwiched between the Dancing On Ice performance and results shows.But that’ll see it clash for at least part of every episode with Call The Midwife, BBC1’s Fifties-set series starring Jessica Raine, Vanessa Redgrave and Miranda Hart.My insider says: ‘ITV hopes Mr Selfridge will have the same success as Downton Abbey.'They are clearly very confident to consider putting it up against such an established show as Call the Midwife.’ Mr Selfridge is based on real events and stars Hollywood actor Jeremy Piven as Harry Gordon Selfridge, the flamboyant owner of the eponymous department store. It is ITV’s biggest drama project of 2013.The BBC and ITV have already clashed over it, after the Beeb rushed its own historical department-store drama The Paradise on to screens this autumn so it would be shown first.It seems nonsensical to schedule Mr Selfridge and Call The Midwife head-to-head, because they will attract similar audiences. But my ITV source says: ‘Call The Midwife thrashed us last year and damaged the entire Sunday night line-up