Call the Midwife returned on Christmas Day for a festive special which saw many viewers reduced to tears. The episode, which marks the beginning of a new series set to officially commence in January on BBC One, sparked a huge reaction from die-hard fans watching at home thanks to its many emotional moments.
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After the episode finished, many took to social media to give their verdict. One person picked up on the drama mentioning fan-favourite character Nurse Barbara Gilbert (Charlotte Ritchie) who tragically died in season seven.
WATCH: Behind the scenes of Call the Midwife Christmas special
They tweeted: "I am sobbing and I haven't even gotten to [Lucille's] wedding yet. I JUST CANNOT. 'Wear your pearls today for Barbara' #CallTheMidwife #CallTheMidwifeChristmas."
Another also found this moment particularly poignant and also noted the sweet moment Lucille Anderson's (Leonie Elliott) groom, Cyril Robinson (Zephryn Taitte), asked Reggie Jackson (Daniel Laurie) to be his best man.
"Spent the last 95 minutes full on sobbing at #CallTheMidwife. First you sucker-punch me with Phyllis remembering Barbara, then Cyril asks Reggie to be his best man. Best Christmas ever."
A third hilariously wrote: "Oh great, just put my extra thick night cream on my face ready for bed and washed it all off with tears watching #CalltheMidwife."
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The festive special went down a treat with viewers
The special episode saw other memorable scenes including the return of the iconic Nurse Mildred played by Miriam Margolyes – who made her grand entrance on a milk float.
Call the Midwife's Christmas special also saw the return of Timothy Turner, played by Max Macmillan, who joins his dad, Dr Patrick Turner (Stephen McGann) on a call out, having returned from medical school.
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In a video shared on social media ahead of the festive episode, Max revealed the tense scenario that his character is faced with.
He said: "For this year's Christmas special, it's been quite exciting for my character because he's taken one of his first steps from being a child into the real medical world, where he joins his dad on his first proper call, which just so happens to be a call from a bunch of real-life gangsters. That was really fun to get to experience the more intense side of the show."
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