'Call The Midwife' renewed for second series on BBC One

The BBC has announced that new drama Call The Midwife will return for a second series.

The show - which has only aired two episodes - stars Miranda Hart as one of a community of nursing nuns.

The first episode pulled in a total of 9.8m viewers on January 15, making it BBC One's highest launch episode of a new drama on record.

Last night's episode also drew impressive figures, with overnight figures averaging 8.6 million.

"Call The Midwife has had a huge impact with audiences," said BBC One controller Danny Cohen. "It's a very high-quality drama series from a brilliant team.

"It manages to be both hard-hitting and emotional, gritty and warm. I am already looking forward to the second series."

Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, added: "Call The Midwife is a totally original mix of comedy, tears, babies and nuns and it is fantastic to see this distinctive piece of British drama win such high praise and ratings.

"We can't wait for the team to return next year and are very grateful to the vision of [original author] Jennifer Worth and [adaptation writer] Heidi Thomas."

Call The Midwife, which is made by Neal Street Productions, continues this Sunday at 8pm on BBC One.

> Call The Midwife Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart Q&A: 'You will wince'

Watch a trailer for Call The Midwife below: