While Sunday nights Call the Midwife series 6 finale was filled with enough happiness and sadness to make me wish I had invested in Kleenex stock years ago, there is already series 7 news out of the UK that will possibly make long time viewers a bit unhappy. Already surviving the fact that Chummy, played brilliantly by Miranda Hart, was not to appear in the series that just ended, fans around the globe are waking up to the news that Bryony Hannah, Emerald Fennell and Kate Lamb will not be residing at Nonnatus House when there series returns this Christmas on BBC1 and PBS.

Fennell and Lamb played nurses Patsy Mount and Delia Busby while Hannah has starred as nun Cynthia Miller since series one aired in 2012. A show spokesperson confirmed to RadioTimes.com the departure of the three actresses. As series 6 came to a close on Sunday night on PBS, Midwife fans across America were thrilled to finally see Patsy and Delia reunited at the end of the episode as they finally shared a kiss. Unfortunately, now, it looks like we’ll never find out what happened next even though the pair have survived distance, a bout of amnesia and societal pressures to get where they are at the end of Sundays episode.

“We are always sad when actors want to move on to pastures new, as it’s a wrench to let go of such beloved characters, but time and again over the years it has proved hugely exciting to bring new faces and personalities into the mix.”

“As a large ensemble family, comings and goings are part of life in Call the Midwife and we wish Emerald, Kate and Bryony all the luck for their next projects. Our core team are still very much at the heart of series seven and viewers have already taken newer cast members like Nurse Crane and Valerie into their hearts.”

As we reported last week, the series announced that Black Mirror actress Leonie Elliott had been cast as Nurse Lucille Anderson and become the first West Indian midwife to feature as a regular character in the BBC drama. “We are also excited to have recently introduced our new midwife, Lucille. Call the Midwife continues to go from strength to strength with a regular audience of over 10 million and series six overnight ratings bucked the TV trend by increasing from series five.”

Call the Midwife 2017 Christmas Special returns to BBC1 and PBS this Christmas.