Viewers of BBC's Call the Midwife have been left devastated following the latest episode of series 13.

The penultimate episode saw fan favourite character Matthew Aylward find a possible solution to his growing financial woes.

Hoping to find income away from Aylward Estates, Mr Aylward was advised by friend Chester to buy two warehouses in New York as the property market in the American city seems to be on the rise.

Speaking to his wife Nurse Trixie, Mr Aylward said: "Chester thinks he can raise all of the necessary capital, so if we join forces I can see a return on my investment within five years."

But, with his future profits off in New York it leaves Mr Aylward with no choice but to move to the Big Apple straight away, taking his son Jonty with him.

Trixie, unaware that the business deal would move to a new continent, was left heartbroken that her husband hadn't discussed the deal with her or asked for her opinion. 

However, Mr Aylward attempted to make it a good thing for the family: "You can choose to stay here and try to support a family on a nurse's wages, or you can choose to go to New York, a fresh start.

"If you need time to think about it, I don't think that's unreasonable. We will go, and you can come when you are ready."

Continuing to plead with Trixie to come to New York, the nurse said she was not ready to make the move, as Mr Aylward said "I love you" before leaving for the Big Apple.

But now that Matthew, played by Olly Rix, has left Poplar, some fans think he could still return to Call the Midwife.

Will Olly Rix return to Call the Midwife?

Reports of Mr Rix's exit began appearing back in September 2023 when it was thought the actor had been written out of Call the Midwife just one series after he wed Trixie, played by Helen George.

At the start of February, Mr Rix had spoken about rumours circulating his exit, telling OK! at the premiere of George’s The King And I musical: "It’s great being part of the Call the Midwife family. For now.

“You’ve got to watch to the end of this series. There are a few surprises ahead, a few bumps in the road. We’ll see how much longer I’m part of the family!”

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But now, following Mr Aylward's move to New York, it seems the businessman has left Poplar for good.

Olly Rix and Helen George discuss the emotional final Call the Midwife scenes

Discussing their final scenes on Call the Midwife together, Mr Rix described the day as moving, sharing that it was "genuinely very moving on the page, and it was something we found quite emotionally exhausting to do".

He added: "And they were hard, really hard to work on. We have this set of Matthew's flat, Matthew and Trixie’s flat, which is quite a small set.

"And we're just in these four walls, and often our scenes would be programmed to be filmed in one day, so there's a sort of pressure on the finality of it all, as well."

Call the Midwife airs on BBC One at 8pm on Sundays.