Derek Thompson announces shock departure from Casualty
Fans of Casualty will be shocked to hear of the departure of the show’s longest-running stars.
The hit BBC drama has announced that Derek Thompson, known for his role as Charlie Fairhead, will be leaving the show after an astounding 37 years.
The 75-year-old actor appeared in the first-ever episode of the hospital show back in September 1986 and has stuck with the series over its 37 seasons.
The official Casualty Instagram account revealed Derek would be leaving earlier today by sharing a snap of the star and explaining, “Derek Thompson to say goodbye to #Casualty".
"Derek will be filming until the autumn, and his final scenes as Charlie will air next year in the culmination of a gripping exit storyline which will see Charlie front and centre of the action”.
Thompson, who appeared in almost 900 episodes, also released a statement about his departure from the show, saying, “The time has come for me to hang up Charlie’s scrubs after the most wonderful 37 years”.
“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”.
He closed off by adding, “I want to say thanks to Pete and everyone else over that time who has inspired me in bringing this character to life”.
Jon Sen, Executive Producer of Casualty for BBC Studios, spoke out about Derek’s time in the series.
He 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 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”.
