Casualty star Derek Thompson, who plays Charlie Fairhead, to leave TV show after 37 years | Ents & Arts News

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Derek Thompson is ready to depart medical drama Casualty after 37 years of taking part in Charlie Fairhead.

The 75-year-old actor featured within the first-ever episode in September 1986 and has remained trustworthy to the BBC present ever since.

Thompson, who’s the longest-serving forged member, stated: “The time has come for me to hold up Charlie’s scrubs after essentially the most fantastic 37 years.”

The star will probably be filming till the autumn and his remaining scenes will probably be on TV screens subsequent yr within the “end result of a gripping exit storyline which can see the character entrance and centre of the motion”, in keeping with the BBC.

Casualty's Derek Thompson
Picture:
Derek Thompson has been on the present because it started

He has appeared in almost 900 episodes as Charlie, a personality impressed by an actual nurse, Pete Salt.

Thompson stated: “Along with the writers and producers, I’ve tried to carry to Charlie the compassion, kindness, heroism and sound judgement that all of us see and love in Pete.

“And I need to say due to Pete and everybody else over that point who has impressed me in bringing this character to life.”

Charlie turned the “lynchpin of the hospital’s emergency division”, the BBC stated.

The character was “central” to the present and key to “numerous main storylines which explored difficult and thought-provoking topics”, the company added.

Charlie was shot within the chest by a schizophrenic man in an early episode, run over by an ambulance on his marriage ceremony day, suffered a near-fatal cardiac arrest throughout a gang siege and noticed the top of his relationship with fellow nurse Duffy, performed by Cathy Shipton.

Casualty's Derek Thompson
Picture:
The ‘lynchpin of the hospital’s emergency division’

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Woven into material of British TV historical past’

Jon Sen, government producer of Casualty for BBC Studios, stated: “Derek and I might typically joke that, after such an extended and dramatic profession within the NHS, there was nearly nothing that Charlie hadn’t seen.

“So it was an incredible shock to me when Derek arrived with a superb concept for Charlie’s exit as a part of an upcoming storyline, which was too good to move up. We are going to all miss Derek enormously.

“Over almost 4 a long time, Derek has crafted an iconic character who’s woven into the material of British TV historical past.”

The actor earned essentially the most within the scripted TV (drama and comedy) class in 2017 – between £350,000-£399,999, in keeping with the BBC’s annual report.

He additionally starred in one other medical drama, Holby Metropolis, and police spin-off Holby Blue.

The BBC stated particulars of Thompson’s remaining Casualty storyline will probably be revealed “in the end”.

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