Call the Midwife welcomes new cast member after Olly Rix's exit

Call the Midwife is set to welcome a new cast member in the upcoming Christmas special, which airs in December.

Nine-year-old actress Myla Park will make her debut in the festive episode and while details about her character have been kept under wraps, we do know that she'll play an important role.

The news was announced on the show's official social media page, which shared a behind-the-scenes photo showing Myla posing alongside fellow child actors, April Rae Hoang, Alice Brown and Edward Shaw, who play Patrick and Shelagh Turner's children May, Angela and Ned.

"With each passing year, the Turner children grow up even faster than before! And with each season they become better friends - and they have so much more fun while on set with us," read the caption.

"It warms the heart to see how well they all get on - and their friendship group is always open to the young guest actors who come along to play important featured characters in our episodes."

The post continued: "This Christmas episode features a lovely performance from young Myla Park, pictured - from left to right - with April Rae Hoang (May), Alice Brown (Angela) and Edward Shaw (Ned). They became great playmates during filming - especially on those long days involving a large cast, as seen here.

"This new gang of tiny stars wanted to immortalise their day in typical film fashion with a clapperboard shot - and our camera team were ready with an appropriately tiny clapperboard!!"

© Neal Street Productions/Nicky Johnston

Teasing the episode, the show's social media team concluded: "The next time you see Myla, it'll be in a more dramatic context... but until then, our lips are sealed."

While Myla might be a fresh face on our screens, she's no stranger to the limelight having performed in the West End production of Annie and various other stage shows. 

The Christmas special takes place in 1969 and while there's no official synopsis yet, we do know that the episode marks "a poignant turning point" before the show moves into the 70s.

© Neal Street Productions/Olly Courtney

Fans can also expect to see a travelling funfair come to Poplar in the festive episode. Teasing the upcoming instalment back in May, the show's official social media account posted: "Several of our cast are involved with this story - and so our poor, utterly serious and professional team have had to suffer free helter skelter rides, rifle shooting games, dodgem cars and carousels - not to mention copious amounts of candy floss and fresh popcorn - oh, the pain of it all!"

Series 13 ended with heartbreak for Mrs Higgins, who said goodbye to her long-lost son after being reunited decades after she put him up for adoption when she was 21. After finally coming face to face with her fully grown son Victor, it soon transpired that he was dying from kidney disease. 

© Olly Courtney

Elsewhere, Trixie revealed her plans to join her husband Matthew in New York, leaving fans questioning whether she would appear in series 14. Thankfully, actress  Helen George has since shared behind-the-scenes pictures from the set of season 14, so it looks like Trixie will be back after all. 

The new cast addition comes amid Olly Rix's departure from the drama earlier this year. The actor's character Matthew Aylward left London for New York in series 13 and while HELLO! understands that the door is being left open for the star's return, he's reportedly landed a new role in Casualty.