Call the Midwife star Helen George has confirmed her return to the show for series 14 after rumours about her departure.
The series 13 finale left Helen's character Nurse Trixie Aylward's future uncertain after she revealed her plans to leave Poplar and join her husband Matthew in New York. The businessman had left London for the Big Apple in the hopes of rebuilding his fortune.
In a new interview, Helen said she was "always planning to come back" when asked if she considered stepping away from the drama.
Chatting about the upcoming 14th season, Helen told Virginradio.co.uk: "It's bigger than ever and I guess it's quite a return for Trixie because she's coming back sans-husband, so that's an interesting twist."
On reprising her role for the new series, Helen said: "It's really nice being back with the girls and being back with the ladies at Nonnatus House. Trixie has been brought back into the fold, which is really fun and where she kind of sits best, I think."
Helen's comments come after the cast returned to filming from their annual summer break. The show's official Instagram page confirmed the news, adding that actor Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Turner, and his wife, creator Heidi Thomas, had attended their son's wedding during the brief hiatus.
Alongside a selfie of Stephen with his real-life son Dominic and his on-screen son, Max Macmillan, who plays Timothy Turner, the caption read: "Call the Midwife Summer Recess: Real son meet fake son!
"We are now all back filming series 14 after our customary summer break. It was our annual leave for the CTM team in the middle of the long year's filming, to allow us to see family and friends, book a holiday, and generally let our hair down!"
The caption continued: "For Stephen McGann (Dr Turner), there was no time for a holiday. He and his partner Heidi Thomas (Writer & Executive Producer) had something rather special to take care of ... their son Dominic's wedding!"
While the BBC has yet to release an official synopsis for the new series, we do know that the show moves into the 1970s after the Christmas special.
Heidi said: "Series 14 is set in 1970, launching us into an exciting new decade. We can't wait to bring you another season full of touching, exciting, emotional stories from Nonnatus House."