Fans of BBC One's Call the Midwife are eagerly awaiting the period drama's 10th series, which has been delayed five months due to the pandemic.

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And, though it looks like Trixie and the rest of the Poplar nurses aren't going anywhere – the series has already been confirmed for an 11th season – the writing team may face some challenges as the show enters the late '60s. Namely, the lack of "old diseases".

Speaking to The Mirror, Stephen McGann, who plays Dr Turner, said: “We are actually having a problem on Call the Midwife because we’re running out of these old diseases we started with, because we’re being vaccinated.”

Season 10 takes place in 1966, just a year before polio was eradicated and two years before the measles jab was introduced.

Writer Heidi Thomas added: “There will always be something new for example but polio and TB are sort of on the run. I have to look for new stories as we can’t do stories really about polio anymore."

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But that's not to say the challenge won't open up new opportunities for Helen George's steely nurse Trixie and her team. “I am looking forward to the way in which medicine changes," Thomas said, "and we just aren’t running out of material yet, I think.”

Of course, there are also plenty of historical events to draw on for inspiration. The upcoming series is likely to feature the World Cup, for example, though we don't know if the incident in which a dog named Pickles found the stolen trophy will make it into the story.

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Call the Midwife season 10 airs later this year. In the meantime, check out our TV Guide.

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