It's definitely not Christmas without the Call the Midwife Christmas special, and it's never too early to start getting excited about it.
The enduring, nostalgic series continues to delight audiences around the world. With both a Call The Midwife film and prequel spin-off in the works, there's so much more to look forward to from the incredible world the show has created.
The BBC Have yet to confirm the air date of the two 60-minute festive episodes planned for this year, but it's thought they'll follow last year's schedule by airing one in a Christmas Day evening slot, with the next following on Boxing Day.
While the series is known for gritty storylines, there are usually a lot of sugar-coated happy-ever-afters that follow.
However, this year's Christmas special appears to have taken a darker turn, with Jenny Agutter (Sister Julienne) among other stars hinting at "dark" and "troubling" times for the nuns and midwives of Poplar.
In conversation with Saga Magazine, Jenny outlined what fans can expect from the festive special. "The Order's branch house in Hong Kong has collapsed, and nuns, doctors and children have been killed," she explains.
Sister Julienne heads out there to take care of survivors and find a new base. "It becomes problematic because the Triads [criminal syndicates] are against the Order and don't want her to be there," she shares.
In a conversation with Radio Times, Jenny offers more intel on the Christmas special. "We discover the ground underneath the mission has made it collapse," she reveals.
The actress continues, "It's just sunk away. Some people have died, the whole place is destroyed, and the orphans and mothers have nowhere to go."
Returning for the special and joining Sister Julienne in Hong Kong, is Sister Hilda (Fenella Woolgar.) Sister Hilda left the series 2022 Christmas special when she was relocated to the Mother House, so it will be lovely to see her once again.
Sister Veronica (Rebecca Gethings) also attends the mission to Hong Kong, and the trip brings "complicated emotions" for the nun.
When she and Nurse Crane find a newborn baby abandoned in a cardboard box, "It's all looking quite bleak."
Only getting to care for the baby for a short time, Rebecca says Sister Veronica had "bonded with this baby".
She adds, "She's got these mixed feelings of delight that this baby's going to be okay, but also this illogical wanting of the baby herself."
The "psychological pull" to be a mother is something that "will continue throughout the series" for Sister Veronica when it picks up again in the new year, according to Rebecca.
There's an equal number of challenges facing those who stay behind in Poplar. Sister Catherine (Molly Vevers,) cares for "two mums-to-be who are Irish travellers and living in a camp."
She meets a lady called Queenie with "a heartbreaking back story," and is required to help her "process the grief she's been through."
If you're worried about the potential lack of festive cheer that might be coming from the Christmas episodes, Molly does suggest the stories that pull at viewers' heartstrings will be "woven in with all the Christmas magic of the rest of the episode."
Speaking about what it was like to film in Hong Kong, Jenny Agutter reveals, "We had a typhoon which came right across where we were staying."
"All the cast and crew were told to stay inside," she shares. However, they took the opportunity to do some bonding while they were trapped inside.
"We gathered for a wonderful dim sum lunch in the hotel when the winds were at their strongest," she recalls.
