Our Girl fans left reeling after latest episode's emotional twist

Ward has spoken out about leaving the show in such dramatic circumstances, explaining how it felt to say goodbye to a character he had played since the very first episode of the show back in 2013.

Speaking to Digital Spy, he said, "I don't think it's properly hit me yet. It's been seven years and I feel like I've actually grown up on the show.

"When I first joined the show I was a little kid and we just got dropped in Africa, I had no agent, I was just getting back into acting and a lot of the skills that you learn behind the show with the army training and the camaraderie, the team and the families you build I think has helped me grow as a man a lot."

He added, "I feel very privileged that [Our Girl creator] Tony Grounds has given me this opportunity but I think more so for me as an actor, I put a lot of work into it."

Meanwhile, fans of the show flocked to social media to express their sadness at Fingers' departure.

One fan wrote on Twitter, "If lockdown wasn’t bad enough, fingers dying has made it 10 times worse" while another added, "I will never emotionally recover from the death of Fingers."

A third fan wrote, "I wanna personally write a complaint. First Smurf, then elvis and now FINGERS. Can’t deal with this."

Our Girl continues on Tuesday, April 21 at 9pm on BBC One. If you’re looking for more to watch check out our TV guide.