Call the Midwife to return with a Christmas special as 7.1 million viewers watch tearful finale

(Image credit: BBC/Neal Street Productions/Soph)

Call the Midwife will return with full series in 2019

Call the Midwife will return for a Christmas special, as the announcer promised that fans had just nine months to wait for more action from Nonnatus House after last night's final episode of the current series aired on BBC1.

The emotional finale - which featured Barbara’s funeral and made reference to the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in November 1963 – attracted 7.1 million viewers, reported tellymix. The huge rating meant that it beat the final of Dancing on Ice - which was won by Jake Quickenden.

The new festive episode is likely to be set around Christmas 1963 – the last Christmas special saw the residents of Nonnatus House inundated with snow as they faced the Big Freeze, the hardest winter for 300 years, that started just after Christmas in 1962.

Call The Midwife 2017 Christmas special - when is the Call the Midwife Christmas Day

Fans will also be pleased to hear that there will be another full series of Call the Midwife following on from the Christmas special in early 2019.

Call the Midwife, written by Heidi Thomas, launched in 2012. It originally starred Jessica Raine in the leading role as Jenny Lee.

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough.

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!