Holby City fans were left in floods of tears on Tuesday evening as the long-running BBC drama came to a moving end after a 23 year run.
The medical drama came to an end with a moving tribute to the NHS delivered by Holby City's Jac Naylor (Rosie Marcel) as a voiceover.
Then, as the credits rolled, the BBC show played a touching slowed down version of the iconic theme tune as the.
The credits themselves were featured overlaid onto various cast snapshots of the beloved characters over the show’s epic 23 year run, making for a poignant final moment for the medical drama.
The medical drama’s swansong focused on the aftermath of Jac’s surgery and saw her make the devastating decision to ask Adrian 'Fletch' Fletcher for a do-not-resuscitate order amid her battle with cancer.
In the show’s last scenes, Jac, who tragically died during Holby City’s heartbreaking final episode, gave a moving tribute to the relentless hard work and dedication of the NHS.
As the cast were seen responding to an emergency incident at the hospital, she said: “It took me a long time to find a place I belonged, somewhere to call home.
“It wasn't with my mother or the carers she dumped me with. It certainly wasn't with any man.”
She continued: “It was when I first walked into a theatre and breathed in that rarefied air, realising my hands could save lives. I knew then on day one I had found my place in the world. Somewhere I belonged.
“This is what the NHS means to us. Not a badge on a cabinet minister's lapel. Not a number down the side of the bus.
“It's a nurse missing her break to sit with a lonely patient. A surgeon grinding out a 15 hour op. The sound of sirens coming to the rescue. Thursday night applause floating across the rooftops.”
As the show ended on a final shot of the hospital with the words ‘Thank you’ and ‘NHS Holby City’ projected onto the building, Jac concluded: “All of us are doing the best we can in impossible circumstances. It's something to believe in. It's home.”
The emotion of the show’s final scenes was not lost on fans, who took to Twitter to praise the stellar closing moments, with one writing: "I fully am hysterically sobbing here."
Another wrote: "This is the most heartbreaking end. I’m going to miss you," as another posted: "That message in support of the NHS, the boldness Holby City always had!"
A fellow fan wrote: "Jac’s closing voiceover is the most beautifully fitting ending there could ever have been. This show is so important and so special and always will be. my heart is broken."
The final episode of Holby City came after BBC bosses decided to axe the popular show “in order to reshape the BBC’s drama slate to better reflect, represent and serve all parts of the country”.
