Derek Thompson says his final Casualty episodes are "the best" of his career
Everyone's favourite nurse will be bowing out of the role after 38 years.
After 38 years on Casualty, Derek Thompson will be saying goodbye to his role as Charlie Fairhead on the BBC One medical drama, with details of his farewell being kept under wraps until the episode airs.
In the latest instalment of Casualty, viewers were left distressed when beloved Nurse Charlie was stabbed and was left bleeding out.
While Stevie (Elinor Lawless) and Faith (Kirsty Mitchell) found him, the fate of the iconic character will be revealed on Saturday 16th March.
In first-look pictures of Saturday's episode, Charlie can be seen lying on a hospital bed, and there are scenes of a young Charlie at the start of his career. Could life be flashing before his eyes?
Well, in a new Q&A ahead of his final episode, Thompson has given his verdict on the forthcoming scenes, admitting he thinks his final episodes on Casualty are "some of the best" of his career.
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"When I first read the script, I didn't have to think about it at all, because it's just great storytelling," he explained.
"How Michelle Lipton wrote these episodes comes across like she's written eight plays. Taken from so many points of view. They all belong so well; they belong to the characters.
"I don't think there's another writer who could have done it. I think my final two episodes are some of the best episodes of my career."
Despite them being some of his best moments, Thompson admitted he felt "heightened emotions" when filming the scenes - but were they positive or negative?
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He told OK! Magazine: "I don't want to spoil it by saying whether or not he survives, but everything felt heightened when I filmed my last scenes. It felt like one of those big emotional moments in your life, like the birth of a child or your wedding."
Thompson first joined Casualty in 1986 and was attracted to the role of Charlie after reading the script.
"I thought it was bang on the money," he said. "It said what its aims and ambitions were. It's the kind of role people want to do in theatre that gets through to people about the NHS.
"But reading the scripts, I thought it was better than anything I could have done in the theatre."
Yet Thompson never thought he'd stay in the role until 2024. "I originally signed up for three years, but it soon became apparent what a great character he was to play," he told the publication.
Casualty will broadcast at 9.25pm on Saturday on BBC One. Casualty is a BBC Studios production and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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