Call the Midwife star Laura Main thinks show is "close to the end"

The Shelagh Turner star said: "We've known for a while that [season] 13's commissioned, but we're not hearing anything else beyond that. And I think sometimes you get to those big numbers and you think '10!', like there's so much kind of pressure on it.

"So now it just feels a bit more relaxed, like it's not a big deal but we know that maybe it's getting really quite close to the end now.

"Who knows, but I just feel like I'm appreciating it all the more, and each other all the more. It's such a special thing that we've all been part of for over a decade."

Could this mean we're coming to the beginning of the end for the long-running drama?

Well, RadioTimes.com also spoke exclusively with the series' creator Heidi Thomas and producer Pippa Harris at the Festival, and Harris explained: "We have this series commissioned, which is the one we're concentrating on, another one next year, and then who knows after that?

"It's become sort of part of the warp and weft of our lives, so it's very difficult to imagine not doing it."

Thomas agreed, saying: "The thing is, we have never got bored of it. I think if we got bored of it, it would become boring, and it would just come to a natural end then, wouldn't it? But it doesn't feel as though we have run the course yet. I think the '60s are so interesting and so exciting.

"I keep uncovering things which are just so interesting, things that were happening in the lives of women and the lives of ordinary people, the working classes, Britain as a whole.

"And I think if we continue to be excited by that - you know, I'll send a message saying 'you'll never guess what I've just found out that happened in 1968' - as long as that keeps happening for us, we can keep on going."

So thankfully it seems the series may not be coming to an end just yet.

Nancy and Sister Frances stars Megan Cusack and Ella Bruccoleri recently told RadioTimes.com that they thought the series would continue for a long time to come, with Bruccoleri saying: "It’s the kind of show that you could stick with. I feel it will go on and on and on."

When Cusack agreed that it "could go on for years", Bruccoleri added: "It probably will. There would be uproar if it didn’t!"

Additional reporting by Huw Fullerton.

Call the Midwife will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Seasons 1-11 are available on BBC iPlayer now. Looking for something else to watch? Check out the rest of our Drama coverage or take a look at our TV Guide.

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