Casualty legend Derek Fairhead to leave after 37 years as nurse Charlie
ok.co.ukDerek Thompson, Casualty's longest-serving cast member, has announced that he will be departing the BBC show after 37 years, the BBC has said.
The actor, who plays Charlie Fairhead on the popular BBC medical soap, has said of his departure: "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 and I want to say thanks to Pete and everyone else over that time who has inspired me in bringing this character to life." Nurse Charlie has played a key role in a number of the show's storylines and will be departing in a gripping exit storyline later this year.
Derek will be filming until Autumn when his character will leave the show after 37 years, the BBC have announced that further details of the storyline will be released in due course.
Jon Sen, Executive Producer of Casualty for BBC Studios, spoke about the departure of the much-loved actor, who has appeared in nearly 900 episodes of the show.
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