Casualty fans were delighted to see some old faces return for the show’s 40th anniversary episode –as well as the return of something else far more unexpected: the original theme tune. The BBC medical drama celebrated the milestone with two action-packed instalments that saw Derek Thompson and George Rainsford reprise their roles as Charlie Fairhead and Ethan Hardy. While fans were overjoyed by the pair’s presence in the dramatic two-parter, which saw them help out following an explosion at a neighbouring hospital, the nostalgia was kicked into overdrive at the end of part two by the usage of the original opening credits and music that kicked off the series when it began in the 1980s until its change in 2001.
Another added: “The 40th special episode closes with the OG theme tune! Ah the nostalgia!” Thompson, 78, hung up his scrubs after 38 years in 2024. He was the show’s longest-serving actor, having starred in almost 900 episodes.
Meanwhile, Rainsford joined the series in 2014 and left nine years later, with Ethan making his mark as a fan favourite character. At the time of Thompson’s exit, the BBC described Charlie as the “lynchpin of the hospital’s emergency department”, who has been at the centre of “countless major storylines which explored challenging and thought-provoking subjects”. Thompson explained that the character was inspired by a real nurse called Pete Salt, saying: “Together with the writers and producers, I have tried to bring to Charlie the compassion, kindness, heroism and sound judgment that we all see and love in Pete.
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During his time on the show, Charlie was run over by an ambulance on his wedding day, suffered a near-fatal cardiac arrest during a gang siege, and had a memorable relationship with fellow nurse Duffy (Cathy Shipton). His final episode arrived after his life hung in the balance after being stabbed by a drug-dealing patient, which left him in a coma. However, he survived the attack and one of his final scenes was a nostalgic flashback to his debut episode, from 1989, featuring an emotional goodbye from his old colleagues.
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