BBC Casualty's Charlie star Derek Thompson gives blunt 4-word response to why he really left show after 38 years

ok.co.uk:

Casualty star Derek Thompson has opened up about his exit from the BBC soap after 38 years as Charlie Fairhead - and he's hinted that there's more to his departure than meets the eye.The actor, 76, stopped by Good Morning Britain on Tuesday to chat about his new role in detective drama Blue Lights.

When asked by host Susanna Reid why he left Casualty after nearly four decades, Derek hesitantly replied: "That's all rather confused." After being pressed on the matter, he added: "It's confused in that there is a truth and the truth has been rather garnished. "So I can't answer that question but I'm creating a memoir of the whole of my career and my early life in Belfast so you're going to have to buy the book." Derek Thompson announced last year that he was leaving the BBC soap after 38 years as doctor Charlie Fairhead on the show.

He joined the show in its first series in 1986, with Charlie surviving multiple gun shots, being run over by an ambulance and numerous heart attacks over the decades.

Derek's final episode aired in March 2024, with Charlie surviving being shot and driving away from Holby City Hospital for the last time.