Charlie Fairhead
| Charlie Fairhead | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Casualty character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Derek Thompson | ||||||||
| Duration | 1986– | ||||||||
| First appearance |
1x01, "Gas" 6 September 1986 | ||||||||
| Spin-off appearances |
Holby City (1999–2012) HolbyBlue (2007) | ||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Occupation |
Emergency Nurse Practitioner (2005–) Former Senior Charge Nurse Former Charge Nurse | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Charlie Fairhead, played by Derek Thompson, is a fictional senior charge nurse and the longest serving cast member of the British television series Casualty. He first appeared on 6 September 1986, which was the first episode of the show, before making his first departure from the show in series 18, he later returned for thirty episodes in series 19 before making a permanent return in the following series. Thompson departed the programme in series 22, episode 17 before returning eleven episodes later. He has since remained in the show. Charlie has also appeared in occasional Holby City episodes from its debut in 1999 until 2012. He also appeared in an episode of HolbyBlue in 2007.
Storylines
He has dated numerous women during the show. The most notable is Barbara Wilder - another original character - who was eventually his wife. Baz left Casualty after series one but returned nearly a decade later. Unhappily married, she reconciles with Charlie and gets pregnant with their son, Louis. Baz divorces her husband and marries Charlie in 1998 but they separate when Baz gets a job in Canada two years later. She briefly returns in late 2003 to visit her father but dies after a road accident so Charlie gets full custody of Louis. Charlie has come close to death on several occasions since 1990 as a result of a shooting and later a hit and run involving a stolen ambulance, a pulmonary embolism, attempted drowning and a heart attack. Charlie's son, Louis, sets him up with Maggie Coldwell (Susan Cookson). They date for a while and he proposes but she refuses, agreeing inside to stay in touch. In series 22, Charlie celebrates thirty-five years in nursing. However, he struggles with childcare issues and the news that he or Tess Bateman (Suzanne Packer) will be made redundant. Although Tess volunteers, Charlie is asked to leave after a fight with a patient.
He returns several months later, working in the private sector and becomes a grandfather after Louis's brief relationship with Shona Wark results in a daughter. Shona, unable to cope, leaves her with Charlie and he named her Megan, after his long term friend and one time colleague, Megan Roach (Brenda Fricker), who he and Tess recently helped commit suicide. While searching for his missing granddaughter, who had been taken by a mentally ill patient, Charlie sees Ruth Winters (Georgia Taylor)'s husband kissing his lover, James. Charlie debates whether to tell Ruth and confesses when comforting her. Hurt and humiliated by his deception, Ruth has Charlie transferred, but he moves back when Ruth is admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Ruth later returns to the ED and makes amends with Charlie. When Zoe Hanna (Sunetra Sarker) begins looking for a new consultant, following her promotion to clinical lead, and Charlie recommends a former nurse of Holby, Martin Ashford (Patrick Robinson), and he later wins the job and begins working in the ED. He also begins mentoring new student nurse, Ally Hunter (Rebecca Newman), but after realising that she doesn't want to be a nurse and that she doesn't need to follow her mother and grandmother's footsteps she leaves the ED and decides to travel the world. Charlie later visits Louis in New Zealand.
Charlie returns from New Zealand, in August 2014, and clinical lead, Connie Beauchamp (Amanda Mealing) raises her concerns that Charlie doesn't seem interested in his job anymore, but little does she know of the nurse's health problems. Charlie arranges an appointment with Elliot Hope (Paul Bradley) where he believes Charlie has a high possibility of angina. Charlie later becomes irritable towards Tess when she recommends a retirement care plan. When Connie, Tess, Ash, Ethan and Lily are involved in a crash, Charlie takes charge of the ED and ensures that Connie does not attempt a risky procedure on Ethan due to her own injuries. When Connie goes to him later, he tells her that he refuses to retire because he loves his job. Connie agrees with him saying that the rest of the team need him. In February 2015, Charlie gives Connie a few harsh words after she makes the rash decision to ask Caleb Knight (Richard Winsor) for his letter of resignation.
Development
He is described by the BBC as "the lynchpin of Holby's ED. [...] an indispensable, trustworthy and a diplomatic member of the team." Series producer Oliver Kent has described Charlie as "by far our most important character" and "absolutely core to the show's success". In 2012, Inside Soap described Charlie and Tess as 'the mum and dad of Casualty'. Current producer Nikki Wilson talked about the importance of Charlie and Tess saying, "I think it's really crucial that we keep them around. Charlie has been in the show for 25 years, and he's such an iconic character. It's fantastic he's still here. His relationship with Tess is quite important - as you say, they're like the parents of the whole department - so long may it continue."[1] In 2014, series producer, Erika Hossington spoke to Digital Spy about the show's plans for Charlie, saying that they have big plans for Charlie, "We've got a small story that will show in the first third of series 29. However, we've also got bigger plans for him, which will begin in the final third of series 29 and continue towards the thirtieth anniversary."[2] She continued to say how Charlie will be "centre of the thirtieth anniversary" and "in order for that to be impactful, they have to really build up to that". "Charlie's older fans will have complete satisfaction. I think Charlie is the heart of the show and always should be central, hence why he is going there."
See also
References
- ↑ "Secrets of Casualty!". Inside Soap (Hearst Magazines) (2): 38–40. 14–20 January 2012.
- ↑ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s18/casualty/scoop/a590770/casualty-producer-erika-hossington-shares-show-gossip-part-two.html#~oPhUYRXVsa3kmq