Casualty’s longest-serving cast member, Derek Thompson, is to leave the soap after almost four decades playing Charlie Fairhead, the BBC has announced.
Thompson, the only remaining actor from the first episode in 1986, has appeared in nearly 900 episodes.
“The time has come for me to hang up Charlie’s scrubs after the most wonderful 37 years,” Thompson said.
Pete Salt, a nurse who worked as an adviser on the BBC One drama series, provided inspiration for the character. “Together with the writers and producers, I have tried to bring to Charlie the compassion, kindness, heroism and sound judgment that we all see and love in Pete. I want to say thanks to Pete and everyone else over that time who has inspired me in bringing this character to life,” Thompson said.
During his time on the show, Fairhead has been run over by an ambulance on his wedding day, shot in the chest by a schizophrenic man and suffered a cardiac arrest during a gang siege. In 2020, viewers also saw the “heartbreaking farewell” of fellow nurse Lisa “Duffy” Duffin, played by Cathy Shipton, after a 30-year will-they-won’t-they relationship with Thompson’s Fairhead.
The BBC described the character as a “linchpin of the hospital’s emergency department” and said he was at the centre of “countless major storylines which explored challenging and thought-provoking subjects”.
The broadcaster said Thompson would continue filming until autumn, with his final scenes airing next year in the “culmination of a gripping exit storyline which will see the character front and centre of the action”.
Jon Sen, the executive producer of Casualty for BBC Studios, said: “Derek and I would often joke that, after such a long and dramatic career in the NHS, there was almost nothing that Charlie hadn’t seen. So it was an amazing surprise to me when Derek arrived with a brilliant idea for Charlie’s exit as part of an upcoming storyline, which was too good to pass up. We will all miss Derek enormously.
“Over nearly four decades, Derek has crafted an iconic character who is woven into the fabric of British TV history. We will miss his craft, his humour and his onscreen presence. We’re also going to miss a friend, so for the next few months we’re going to have a ball filming Charlie’s final chapter.”
A list of top earners published by the corporation in 2017 showed Thompson was one of the best-paid actors, reportedly earning between £350,000 to £399,999 in the last year. According to the figures from the BBC’s annual report, this was more than Peter Capaldi, who was paid £200,000 to £249,999.
The BBC said details of Charlie’s final Casualty storyline would be revealed in due course.
