The highly anticipated Call The Midwife spin-off, Sisters In Arms has finished filming, and the series creator has revealed that making the show left the cast and crew "in tears."
The three-part prequel will air during the next festive period, in place of the usual Call The Midwife Christmas special.
Set in 1939, viewers will get to see a young Sister Monica Joan, Sister Julienne and Sister Evangelina giving much needed midwifery care to the women of Poplar in the years before proper pain relief and the welfare state.
Alongside new characters Sister Alice and GP Dr Kit, the nuns' lives are thrown into chaos when war is declared - and babies still need to be delivered.
To help with their workload during precarious times, the team are joined by secular midwives Sybil, Olive and Marianne, who must help keep mothers and babies safe while the bombs keep dropping.
Filming for the series took two months, and creator Heidi Thomas says that it was eight weeks of "laughter, tears, love, loss and everything in between."
Sharing her thoughts on the shoot to Instagram, as well as offering a very exciting insight into what went on and what to expect from the spin-off, Heidi says, "Call the Midwife has a long and noble history of filming Christmas specials during heatwaves, and this year we welcomed the snow-machine back to the Nonnatus House set like an old friend."
The writer adds, "But I was surprised how many new emotions Call the Midwife: Sisters in Arms sparked. In particular, the evacuation of Poplar's children, and the fear that they may not make it home for Christmas had us all in tears..."
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To mark filming coming to an end, the official Call The Midwife Instagram account shared photos of stars Julie Hesmondhalgh (Sister Alice) and Helena Wilson (Sister Julienne) holding a clapperboard featuring the words, "It's a wrap!"
A second photo showed Ellie McKay (Olive), Liv Andrusier (Marianne) and Lizzie Back (Sybil) standing together in their Nonnatus House midwife uniforms.
Clearly enthusiastic about the spin-off, Heidi Thomas says, "Oh we have SUCH a lot to show you!"
Building excitement for the viewers who can't wait to tune in, she adds, " Everybody has been completely blown away by the story we've been telling... and you'll see it for yourself at Christmas time!"
"And now that filming is over, we'll be starting to bring you sneak peeks at what to expect when we wind the clock back to wartime Poplar..."
The writer concludes with, "Don't go anywhere!." We certainly won't be, and will be counting down the days to the Sisters In Arms release date, along with other Call The Midwife fans everywhere.
Sisters In Arms will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer during the Christmas period, with no official release date set at this time.
