Charlie Fairhead, the character portrayed by Derek Thompson on BBC One drama Casualty for 38 years, will make his final appearance on Saturday. Thompson, a Belfast-born actor, is the only cast member remaining from the medical drama’s first episode in 1986. Thompson had announced his departure last May, saying that his time on the show as senior charge nurse had been “wonderful”.
In last Saturday’s episode, Charlie was stabbed and his survival was left uncertain. He will have an exit story that Thompson has described as “some of the best episodes of my career.” A flashback will be featured, where a young version of Charlie will be shown arriving to work hungover, only to find a nail bomb has exploded and the emergency department is filling up with serious casualties.
Casualty takes place in the fictional Holby City Hospital and follows the stories of the hospital’s A&E Department’s staff and patients. Fans of the show have watched Charlie experience plenty of drama over the years, including being shot in the chest with a handgun and held hostage by an armed man. Thompson will be returning to the screen soon, however. The BBC announced that he will guest-star in the second series of Belfast-based drama Blue Lights, where he will play retired police officer Robin Graham.
Thompson describes his exit storyline as “wonderful”, with episodes that “come across like she’s written eight plays, taken from so many points of view. I don’t think there’s another writer who could have done it,” he said. Among Thompson’s character’s experiences on the show were a relationship with fellow nurse Duffy, which spanned 30 years, and being run over by an ambulance on his wedding day. Thompson acted in nearly 900 episodes of Casualty.
Casualty has featured other actors such as Bernard Gallagher, George Harris, Brenda Fricker, and Julia Watson, and Derek Thompson was the only constant presence throughout the show’s history. On Saturday, viewers will see Charlie being rushed to hospital, slipping in and out of consciousness while his life hangs in the balance. A team of medics will frantically try to save him
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