Derek Thompson will leave the BBC drama Casualty after starring as Charlie Fairhead for 37 years. He is the who’s longest-serving cast member, having been in the cast since it launched in 1986.
Derek has appeared in nearly 900 episodes of the Saturday night drama. He will be filming until the autumn, with his final scenes as Charlie airing next year, the BBC has announced.
It revealed that there would be a ‘gripping exit storyline’ with nurse Charlie at the heart of the action. Speaking about his role, Derek said: “The time has come for me to hang up Charlie’s scrubs after the most wonderful 37 years.
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“Charlie Fairhead was inspired by a real nurse – Pete Salt. Together with the writers and producers, I have tried to bring to Charlie the compassion, kindness, heroism and sound judgement that we all see and love in Pete and I want to say thanks to Pete and everyone else over that time who has inspired me in bringing this character to life.”
Over the years Charlie has been the centre of countless major storylines which explored challenging and thought-provoking subjects. As well as caring for patients, he’s also had a few struggles of his own during his time in the emergency department.
Some of the storylines Charles was involved in including being run over by an ambulance on his wedding day, a near-fatal cardiac arrest during a gang siege, and his loving relationship – and heart-breaking farewell - with his beloved fellow nurse Duffy (Cathy Shipton).
Jon Sen, Executive Producer of Casualty for BBC Studios, says: “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 on-screen 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.”
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