After decades of being the drama’s most recognisable character, Charlie Fairhead has left Casualty, in dramatic and emotional scenes that left panicked viewers worried he’d be ‘killed off,’ as he was life was left hanging in the balance.
It was actorDerek Thompson, the man who’s been playing Charlie for close to 40 years, who broke the news on Charlie leaving the long running BBC show last May. In a statement, Derek said: 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 judgment 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.”
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Charlie’s Casualty exit proved to be a rather dramatic one, with the man himself admitting: “I thought I was a goner” after he was stabbed at left fighting for his life at Holby General, as colleagues desperately fought to save him and a few faces from Casualty past appeared at his bed side. The show even cast an actor to play young Charlie, in a series of flashback scenes that culminated with one, in which he realised his old mentor Shirley had passed away after finishing her shift.
Her death heightened concerns even more that Charlie could be set for the same fate, but, instead the next scene saw him sitting upright in a chair, as many viewers rushed to X to express their relief. The final few shots of Charlie’s farewell episode, which is sure to have drawn a huge audience, saw the man himself reveal what he planned to do with his retirement, saying: “Whatever I bloody well want!”
Colleagues then lined the corridors of the hospital, as Charlie made his final exit, walking out to an enthusiastic crowd outside A&E, as much loved returning character Josh then delivered a speech in the pub, before Charlie was presented with a VW Beetle, which he drove off in as Tears for Fears’ classic Everybody Wants To Rule the World played into the credits.
