‘Call The Midwife’ viewers were left bereft on Sunday (11 February) night, as Trixie Franklin departed as part of her alcoholism storyline.
Viewers first saw Trixie, played by Helen George, speak up about her alcohol addiction back in 2015, when she sought help from the Samaritans and began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
In the series that followed, Trixie has been able to manage her addiction, but in the wake of a difficult few weeks, which saw her break up with Christopher, she began drinking in secret.
By the end of the episode, Trixie had turned to Sister Julienne for advice, admitting she needed to spend some time away from Nonnatus House.
Her emotional exit left many fans feeling particularly heartbroken:
The character will be back in Poplar soon though, as her temporary exit was written to accommodate Helen’s maternity leave.
The actress’s pregnancy has been cleverly concealed in recent episodes, and Helen previously opened up about the methods used to do so.
“You just kind of see me walk across the screen sometimes with odd fashions, or I’d sit down a lot, or I’m wearing lots of capes,” she said at a screening, late last year. “It wasn’t a correct storyline to choose for the character, as well. It wasn’t right for Trixie to be pregnant. So we just did our best to cover it up.”