Holby City Fans Heartbroken As Show Comes To An End With Poignant NHS Tribute

Warning: Holby City spoilers ahead!

BBC viewers were left wiping away tears on Tuesday night when Holby City officially came to an end after 23 years on air, wrapping up with a moving tribute to the NHS.

The beloved medical drama concluded by tying up all of the loose ends for fans' favourite characters, including a particularly heartbreaking ending for Jac Naylor (Rosie Marcel).

Watch Jac's final monologue here:

After undergoing a life or death surgery to remove her brain tumour and later learning that the operation had failed, Jac asked Fletch (Alex Walkinshaw) to write her a do-not-resuscitate order, and it wasn't long before her friends were saying their last goodbyes to the iconic character.

After other characters like Dom (David Ames), Hendrick (Guy Henry) and Donna (Jaye Jacobs) had their stories wrapped up, fans were moved to tears once more as Jac's voice delivered the show's final monologue.

Paying tribute to the NHS, she said: "This is what the NHS means to us.

"It's not a badge on a cabinet minister's lapel, it's not a number down the side of a bus. It's a nurse missing her break to sit with a lonely patient. It's a surgeon grinding out a 15-hour op.

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"The sound of sirens coming to the rescue, Thursday-night applause floating across the rooftops. It's all of us doing the best we can in impossible circumstances."

Fans were touched by the emotional NHS tribute, and even more thrilled when they caught the final 'dig' at politicians who had debated defunding the vital services that the NHS provides.

Taking to Twitter after the BBC series finally concluded, one viewer wrote: "#HolbyCityFinale fantastic ending paying tribute to our proud NHS staff."

A second added: "Jac telling the nation how privileged we are to have the NHS is the reminder we needed #HolbyCity #HolbyCityFinale".

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A third fan tweeted: "Fabulous final twist of the knife from the scriptwriters of the #HolbyCityFinale - the NHS isn't a badge on a cabinet minister's lapel, or numbers on the side of a bus."

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Meanwhile, a fourth raved: "That monologue at the end really capturing what the NHS is. Not a badge or a number on the bus. SO many incredible people make so many sacrifices to provide us all front line free healthcare. They are all to be applauded. #HolbyCityFinale".

And a fifth emotional viewer said: "#HolbyCityFinale That monologue sent a far more powerful message about the importance of the NHS than any politician ever could."

Holby City had been part of the BBC's evening weekday schedule since it debuted in January 1999.