Fans of BBC Call the Midwife are in for an early Christmas present as creators have shared an exclusive sneak peek for the festive special.

The Poplar-based show's annual Christmas special often stands out and pulls the heartstrings of its viewers with a touching storyline.

Call the Midwife's festive special is set to be just as emotional as ever with hints that it could be one character last Christmas.

Call the Midwife shares first look at Christmas special 2023

Runcorn and Widnes World: The cast of Call the Midwife.The cast of Call the Midwife. (Image: BBC / Neal Street Productions)

The festive special is set to take place two weeks before Christmas Day as the midwife prepares to watch Apollo 8 land on the moon.

As much of the world awaits the moon landing, Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) has shared with Nonnatus house that she believes it will be her last Yuletide after deciding she will not live to see a man walk on the moon.

Trixie (Helen George) and her brother Geoffrey (Christopher Harper) decided they must come up with a plan to lighten Sister Monica's mind.

Elsewhere, Nancy (Megan Cusack) has decided to stay at Nonnatus House as Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) offers her and Colette (Francesca Fullilove) a room.

Runcorn and Widnes World: The festive episode is set to be emotional. The festive episode is set to be emotional. (Image: BBC / Neal Street Productions / Laurence Cendrowicz)

Newlyweds Trixie and Matthew (Olly Rix) are back from their honeymoon and excited for their first Christmas together as husband and wife.

Adding some drama to the Call the Midwife Christmas special, Cyril (Zephryn Taitte) hopes to help a lonely man living in a dilapidated basement flat who finds Christmas the hardest time of the year.

While the festive episode will see the return of many fan-favourite characters including Fred, Violet and Reggie, viewers will have to wait a bit longer for more characters.

As new midwives, Joyce Highland (Renee Bailey) and Rosalind Clifford (Natalie Quarry) will not join the Call the Midwife cast until series 13, after the Christmas special.

Hinting at the Christmas special, the Call the Midwife team shared: "December is upon us, the first window of the advent calendar is open, and here at Call the Midwife we begin the final countdown to our seasonal episode!"

Adding: "Over the next few weeks we'll be bringing you all the news and stories from our Christmas Special as we prepare for the most wonderful time of the year. Stay tuned!!"

Fans will be able to watch the Call the Midwife Christmas special on Christmas Day, although the time has not been announced yet, it will be available on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.