Call the Midwife fans say farewell to series six

The BBC has ordered three more series of Call the Midwife

Call the Midwife fans are used to saving their tissues for their regular Sunday night episode but the series finale was more than some could bear.

A birth, death and a marriage concluded the sixth series of the BBC One drama.

It was watched by an average of 9 million viewers, according to overnight figures.

One Twitter user wrote: "This last episode is destroying me, oh my god #callthemidwife." The midwives will next be seen in a Christmas special.

Call the Midwife had a 36% share of the audience on Sunday night

Other viewers were moved to tears by Sunday's episode.

One fan tweeted: "Haven't yet processed #callthemidwife enough to be coherent but suffice to say I laughed, I cried, I felt the love."

Another wrote: "Beautiful end to @CallTheMidwife1. Sad, funny & heart warming all in 1 episode. Sunday nights won't be the same without it."

And actress Helen Belbin, who had a small part in the series, tweeted: "What a fab series of #CallTheMidwife & such an honour to have been a small part of this series. As an actor you are looked after so well."

The media also gave its reaction to the final episode - the Daily Express's Matt Baylis said its "final delivery was first class".

Jasper Rees, writing in The Telegraph, noted the series "went out with three thumping great storylines as the sixth series rose to a shattering crescendo".

The BBC has commissioned three more series - so hold on to that box of tissues.