Call the Midwife has announced a short break in filming for series 12 to give the cast and crew a "well-earned rest with their families".
MORE: Call the Midwife star Cliff Parisi reveals filming setback for series 12
Taking to the beloved period drama's official Instagram account, the show's team revealed that half of the upcoming series has been shot already and that filming for the remaining episodes will conclude in early winter.
WATCH: Have you caught up on series 11?
The show posted a behind-the-scenes snap showing actors April Rae Hoang, Alice Brown and Ned Shaw, who play Turner children May, Angela and Teddy respectively, dressed in costume.
The caption read: "Filming days can be very long, and the hours very inhospitable - and so our production likes to reward our team with a decent break midway through so that they can return refreshed to complete the series.
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"So how are we doing? Really, really well! We have already completed Christmas filming, and are well into Series 12! When we return from our summer break, we have the last half of our stories to film, and won't complete that till the early winter. Call the Midwife is truly a four-seasons job!
© Photo: InstagramThe show has taken a break halfway through filming series 12
"In the meantime, we thought we'd share an on-set pic of our young Turner children... looking suitably end-of-term crazy! I swear these kids get cheekier by the month!!!"
The caption concluded by confirming that the Christmas special will arrive in December and series 12 will be released next year.
The update comes just two days after Cliff Parisi, who plays Fred Buckle, revealed that "a couple" members of the team had contracted coronavirus during filming.
© Photo: BBCThe new series will arrive on screens next year
During an appearance on BBC's Morning Live, the actor revealed how filming for season 12 was going: "Really good. During the pandemic, we filmed too so we've got all these protocols in place which keep us safe. We've had a couple of people go down with Covid but generally the spirit's good, we're getting on with it."
MORE: Call the Midwife teases season 12 plot detail with new photo
He continued: "We're on episode four of the new series and the scripts are amazing, as always, from Heidi Thomas. We love working on her scripts and I'm very, very lucky to be working with such a talented and beautiful bunch of people."
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