Casualty fans 'in FLOODS of tears' after iconic character leaves the show

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Casualty viewers paid their respects to Charlie Fairhead, who left the show after 38 years

Derek Thompson as Charlie Fairhead in BBC1's Casualty.
(Image credit: BBC)

Casualty fans were left feeling very emotional in last night's episode after one of the show's most-loved characters left the show after 38 years.

In last night's episode of Casualty (which aired on Saturday 16th March) we bid farewell to Charlie Fairhead in heartwarming scenes. In the episode, titled 'Charlie' the nurse was seen fighting for his life, but after eventually pulling through he left the ED in a car with a sign saying 'Just retired' on display. 

'I must be tired because I’ve just watched Charlie’s last episode of #Casualty and I am in absolute floods of tears,' wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter).

To which another fan replied, praising the final storyline for the character, 'Me too, that ending was brilliant.'

While another said, 'Me too,' alongside three crying emojis. 

While another wrote, again praising the writers of the show, 'Couldn't think of a better way to write out charlie fairhead so happy they didn't kill him off. derek has played this iconic character for 38 years and his last episode was written so beautifully especially the flashbacks.'

To which another Casualty fan replied, 'Goodbye Charlie. I wish you'd had a flashback of Megan the Greenie (Brenda Fricker).'

And another wrote, 'It was one special episode and it was lovely seeing Josh too brilliant acting all round and the flash backs was special too.'

While another said, 'Aww bless him, that program will never be the same with out him…'

It's clear that Charlie's impact has had a very emotional impact. Only last week, Casualty fans were threatening to 'riot' over Charlie's exit plot, so it's good to see how well his final episode was received. 

Another fan of the character wrote, 'Holby ED: 1986 Charlie Fairhead arrives in his ICONIC Yellow Car. Exactly 38 years later he leaves Holby in the exact same car. A full circle moment and a beautiful way to end Charlie's time on #Casualty. Loved the flashback to young & old Charlie and Stevie at the end too.'

We'll miss you, Charlie!

Tune in next week on Saturday 23rd March to find out what's next in store for the residents of Holby ED.

Casualty airs on BBC One — check out our guide to every episode for all the latest news and spoilers.

Viewers can also now tune into Casualty at 6 am on the day the show airs on BBC iPlayer.

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Lauren Hughes
Freelance writer

Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren worked on the woman&home brand for four years before going freelance. Before woman&home Lauren worked across a variety of women's lifestyle titles, including GoodTo, Woman's Own, and Woman magazine. After starting out working for a local paper in Yorkshire, her journalism career took her to Bristol where she hunted out stories for national papers and magazines at Medavia news agency, before landing a job in London working as a lifestyle assistant.

A big fan of adventure, Lauren is also a keen travel writer and loves sharing tips on where to find the best places to eat, drink, and be merry off the beaten track. Lauren has written a series of travel guides for London hotels and loves sharing her insights into a destination's cultural and culinary offerings. If you need a recommendation on any UK destination, she's more than happy to help. At the weekend, you'll usually find her hanging out with her pet cat (or anyone else's pet she can get her hands on), escaping to the countryside, or devouring a good book.