Derek Thompson will be leaving the BBC drama Casualty after 37 years in the role of Charlie Fairhead.

Appearing in nearly 900 episodes, Derek is Casualty’s longest-serving cast member and has played a central part in the show since it launched in 1986. Derek will be filming until the autumn, and his final scenes as Charlie will air next year in the culmination of a gripping exit storyline which will see the character front and centre of the action.

Derek Thompson says: “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.”

Jon Sen, Executive Producer of Casualty for BBC Studios, says: “Derek and I would often joke that, after such a long and dramatic career in the NHS, there was almost nothing that Charlie hadn’t seen. So it was an amazing surprise to me when Derek arrived with a brilliant idea for Charlie’s exit as part of an upcoming storyline, which was too good to pass up. We will all miss Derek enormously. Over nearly four decades, Derek has crafted an iconic character who is woven into the fabric of British TV history. We will miss his craft, his humour and his on-screen presence. We’re also going to miss a friend, so for the next few months we’re going to have a ball filming Charlie’s final chapter.”

Over the years, Charlie has been the lynchpin of the hospital’s emergency department and at the centre of countless major storylines which explored challenging and thought-provoking subjects.

Having cared for thousands of patients himself, Charlie has also seen a fair few of his own struggles throughout his long tenure in the ED, including when he was run over by an ambulance on his wedding day, a near-fatal cardiac arrest during a gang siege, and his loving relationship – and heart-breaking farewell - with his beloved fellow nurse Duffy (Cathy Shipton). Charlie always pulled through as the beating heart of the department, and has remained a loyal colleague to anyone that needs him.

Details of Charlie’s final Casualty storyline will be revealed in due course.

Casualty is a BBC Studios Continuing Drama production for BBC One and iPlayer. The Executive Producer for BBC Studios is Jon Sen, and the Series Producer is Liza Mellody. Rebecca Ferguson is the Commissioning Editor for the BBC.