Derek Thompson, the star of Casualty, has said that his last episodes on the show are the “best of my career”. He’s been playing Charlie Fairhead for 38 years and has been in nearly 900 episodes.

Now he’s leaving the BBC One drama series, and we’ll see his final scenes this Saturday. Last week on the show, Charlie was hurt when a patient stabbed him. In his last episode, we will see parts of his first day at the hospital while he’s trying to stay awake.
“I think my final two episodes are some of the best episodes of my career,” Derek Thompson shared about his last storyline. He talked about how well Michelle Lipton wrote these episodes. He said it’s like she wrote eight different plays from lots of different views. He thinks no other writer could have done it like her.

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Thompson remembers his very first episode in 1986 as one of his highlights. He told us about Charlie driving his little yellow car over the bridge in Bristol and getting to the hospital. “Charlie was in his little yellow Beetle coming over Bristol suspension bridge and winding through the streets of Bristol, ending up at the hospital.

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“Charlie gets out of the car in his bomber jacket, hair all over the place … it was like ‘Noddy goes to hospital! ‘ He looks up at the building, raises a cigarette to his lips and goes ‘let’s do this! ‘. It gave you the notion that these people have a good sense of humour about themselves. It was the first time that everyone could see what was possible with the show.

“It’s an image that has stayed with me throughout my time on Casualty,” he said. He also expressed his admiration for late Bernard Cribbins, one of his favourite guest stars on the beloved TV programme.

“The wonderful Bernard Cribbins was one of my heroes,” Thompson said. “I used to love the stuff he did, especially when improvising. I remember how strong he was in the part. We had moments when we were standing around on set and just laughing together.”

His character experienced several dramatic events over the years, including being run over by an ambulance on his wedding day, having a near-fatal cardiac arrest during a gang siege, and witnessing the tragic farewell of his relationship with fellow nurse Duffy (Cathy Shipton).