Previous Call the Midwife Christmas specials have taken us to such exotic locations as the Outer Hebrides, West Sussex and South Africa – and now creator Heidi Thomas has revealed where she's setting the next festive episode.

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And it's somewhere that will be very familiar to fans...

"We are staying in Poplar," Thomas told RadioTimes.com at the Radio Times Covers Party.

"We are not going anywhere cold, we are not going anywhere wet, we're not going anywhere far away. It's very much Poplar-based, I'm writing it at the moment.

"And there will be snow and there will be tinsel and there will be trees and there will be Christmas dinner at Nonnatus House. And beyond that it's a secret!"

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The last time all the characters stayed in Poplar for the entire Christmas special was in the 2017 episode, which was set during the exceptionally snowy and cold winter of 1962-3.

Call the Midwife
The Call the Midwife 2019 Christmas special in the Outer Hebrides (BBC)

That was followed by a Christmas episode where several nuns and midwives were summoned to the Mother House in West Sussex (where they enjoyed wintery walks on the beach). And last year, the majority of the characters packed their bags and headed for the remote Outer Hebrides.

But this time around, everyone's staying at home – though Thomas is keeping quiet about what's in store for the midwives, other than the obvious: yes, there will be babies.

"I think the baby count when I left my desk this morning was running at two," she said. "But we'll see how I get on, because I haven't finished writing it yet!"

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Call the Midwife continues on Sundays at 8pm on BBC One

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