Holby City to come to an end after 23 years on screen

A statement shared by the broadcaster read: "We are incredibly proud of Holby City but it’s with great sadness that we are announcing that after 23 years, the show will end on screen in March of next year.

"We sometimes have to make difficult decisions to make room for new opportunities and as part of the BBC's commitment to make more programmes across the UK, we have taken the difficult decision to bring the show to a close in order to reshape the BBC's drama slate to better reflect, represent and serve all parts of the country. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the amazing team at BBC Studios and all the cast and crew who have been involved in the show since 1999.

"Holby has been a stalwart with audiences, delighting millions of viewers each week and winning hundreds of awards with a compelling mix of cutting edge medical stories and explosive personal stories.

"We look forward to working with the team over the coming months to ensure that when it ends, Holby goes out on a high."

BBC Press Office broke the news on Twitter, with Holby City fans instantly taking to the replies to air their disappointment.

Holby City's official Twitter account also shared the news, saying: "We're very sorry to bring you the sad news that Holby City wil come to an end in March next year, after 23 amazing years.

"We are so very grateful to all of Holby's wonderful cast, crew, writers, producers - and to our millions of loyal viewers and fans for being part of our show."

The show's statement went on to add that the move to cancel Holby reflected "the BBC's commitment to make more programmes across the UK and to better reflect, represent and serve all parts of the country".

Holby fans have already responded by launching a Change.org petition to save the show, titled "Don't scrap Holby City".

The announcement comes after it was revealed former Holby villain Vanessa Lytton (Leslie Ash) would be returning to Holby City Hospital when she joins Casualty this summer.

Ash will be reprising the role after 11 years away.

Holby City continues Tuesday at 8:20pm on BBC One. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide.