Stressed Charlie loses his temper and isolates Duffy!
Following Duffy’s revelation that she’s in the early stages of vascular dementia, Charlie Fairhead takes secretive steps to manage the situation this Saturday in Casualty.
Having already taken estranged wife Duffy off night shifts, Charlie (Derek Thompson) now assigns her to “urgent” clerical duties, saying he desperately needs her help…
“When Charlie puts Duffy on admin, she knows what he’s doing,” explains Cathy Shipton, who plays Duffy. “She adheres to his decision but soon ends up feeling like a dead weight because Charlie won’t let her do anything clinical.”
Unfortunately, Charlie’s ploy to prevent her treating patients backfires! With the ED short-staffed and stretched to its limits, Charlie’s decision to pull Duffy from medical duties hasn’t gone unnoticed by their co-workers.
Meanwhile, Duffy feels humiliated and hurt by Charlie’s desperate manoeuvrings to keep her as far away from patients as possible.
“Charlie has panicked. He’s clouded by his own emotion and confusion,” reveals Cathy. “Duffy’s dementia is in the early stages, so she’s as compos mentis as one could be. There are some medical cases she could handle in her sleep but Charlie keeps intervening!”
As the day wears on, Charlie completely loses his temper with argumentative junior nurse Jade Lovall, leaving colleagues speechless at his nasty outburst. Will he regret taking his frustration out on Jade and also realise he’s making Duffy’s situation more distressing?
“Charlie starts behaving very badly because he’s made the wrong decision,” says Cathy. “In covering for Duffy when the department’s under pressure, it looks like he’s just giving his wife an easy time.”
Casualty continues on BBC1 this Saturday at 8.25pm.
