Casualty airs Charlie Fairhead's exit with a big blast from the past

Tonight's episode (Saturday 16th March) was all about Charlie's fight to survive, with his beloved colleagues rallying around him to make sure he pulled through.

As Charlie battled, he took viewers back to the 1980s in a dream sequence where he reflected on the very early days of his career.

There, a nail bomb explosion had caused an A&E to be overrun with very sick patients, echoing the situation Charlie had just managed in his own hospital, following last week's road traffic accident.

A young Charlie (played by Jack Franklin), is being coached by Charge Nurse Shirley (Annette Badland) in his early career days, and as she approaches retirement, she offers Charlie some words of wisdom.

She wanted to retire and go and do whatever she wanted - but in a cruel twist, she passed away during her final shift.

Before the end of the moving episode, Charlie also revealed his special connection to Stevie (Elinor Lawless).

Her father was saved by Shirley and Charlie's team, and his young daughter clearly remembered how incredible the health service was; it was Stevie and it inspired her to become the medical marvel she is today. She was also the one who eventually saved Charlie's life.

Charlie's final episode also saw the return of Josh (Ian Bleasdale) who wanted to see his friend in his time of need. This followed the return of Zoe (Sunetra Sarker) last week, too.

Thankfully by the end of the episode, Charlie had recovered fully because of Stevie's quick-thinking, and he announced he would be retiring, having been inspired by Shirley's story.

As Charlie quietly walked out of the hospital, seemingly with no farewell, he was surprised to see all of his colleagues stood outside Holby with his parting gift: an old yellow car, just like the one he had in the '80s.

The entire bunch of characters were overwhelmed with emotion, with Josh joining his old friend once more as they rode off in the car, ready to enjoy their retirement together.

Casualty is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

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