Call the Midwife fans were "in bits" following the death of beloved character Nigel.
In the latest episode of the BBC drama, Cyril's cat Nigel unexpectedly became sick, after picking up an illness from the overflowing rubbish littering the streets because of the bin man strike.
Nigel was discovered by Cyril's love interest nurse Rosalind, who found him trembling on the street. Nigel's health worsened with the feline refusing food and water, and Rosalind handed over care of the poorly feline back to Cyril when he returned.
The pastor sat holding Nigel through the night, promising to take him to the vet the next morning, but woke up to find his companion dead.
Heartbroken Cyril stroked his head and said: "Don't leave me, Nigel. Poor little man. Oh, my poor friend."
Fans of the show took to social media to comment on the tragic loss, with one user posting on Facebook: "I was in bits."
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Another said: "Another brilliant episode! I absolutely sobbed when we lost Nigel the Cat."
A third user shared how Nigel's death reminded them of their own experience of loss stating: "Poor Nigel, like others tears got me. Not that long since we had to do the same. We lost our cat of 16."
Related: Call the Midwife is right to drag out dehumanising storyline
Despite feeling upset about the tragic turn of events, fans were pleased that some good came out of Cyril's loss with Nigel's death pushing his and Rosalind's will-they-won't-they romance on track.
"Nigel. [I] cried buckets but [am] happy for Cyril and Rosalind," said one Facebook user, while another added: "What a fab episode, so glad Cyril and Rosalind are going to date!! Cried my eyes out for poor Nigel."
During the episode, Cyril admitted that Nigel's passing made him realise that he didn't want to be alone and gave him the courage to be truthful about how he felt towards Rosalind.
Ahead of season 14's debut, Cyril actor Zephryn Taitte teased "hard times ahead" for the pair, whose interracial relationship will put them face to face with racial prejudice (via Radio Times).
However, Call the Midwife's schedule shake-up means fans will now have to wait two weeks for the storyline to resume.
Call the Midwife airs on BBC One and streams on BBC iPlayer.
Read more Call the Midwife news on our dedicated homepage
TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
