Charlie Character Page

Words to sum up Charlie...

Dedicated, caring, diplomatic, unselfish, sympathetic

In a nutshell...

Charlie's the lynchpin of the emergency department. He's been there since the beginning and has always proved to be an indispensable, trustworthy and diplomatic member of the team. Naturally calm, he's seen everything imaginable over the last two decades but has never lost sight of why he wants to do the job. Charlie understands and cares about the emotional welfare of his team, but has a blind spot when it comes to his own needs.

Background...

Charlie has been in the series since it began, and has proved himself to be a dedicated and diplomatic nurse. He has a background in psychiatric care and has completed a trauma nursing course.

He formerly had one of the most stressful jobs in the department but when he became a single father, he felt that he needed to spend more time with Louis and so he took a sabbatical followed by a demotion. Charlie still delights in the company of his son and never forgets that he almost lost him.

Love life...

Charlie was married to Baz and they had a son, Louis. It was a bitter blow when the marriage failed and Louis was taken to Canada. Charlie and Baz were reconciled in Series 18 but Baz died shortly after, leaving Charlie a twice-heartbroken single father. He proposed to Maggie but she turned him down.

Defining moments...

• Fighting for the department's existence when Ewart died
• Becoming an alcoholic after his friend's death
• Being shot by an armed madman
• Proposing to Baz on Valentine's Day
• Being run over on his wedding day
• The birth of his son, Louis
• Being heartbroken over Baz's death
• Being wrongfully arrested for kerb crawling
• Charlie celebrated 35 years in nursing at the beginning of series 22
• Charlie asked Maggie to marry him, but chose to stay at Holby City when she left for pastures new
• Charlie was forced to resign after hitting a patient, but later returned to take up Harry's fight against Marilyn when Harry sacrificed himself
• Charlie took new nurse Jay under his wing

Fascinating facts...

• Derek is Casualty's longest-serving actor. He has been in the show since episode 1, in 1986
• Derek and his twin sister, Elaine, were pop stars when they were 12. They had a hit called 'One Little Robin in a Cherry Tree'
• His son is called Charlie and he played the role of Duffy's son in Casualty
• He met his wife, Dee, when she appeared as Maggie, a cave explorer, in Casualty
• His fave food is beans on toast
• Derek enjoys swimming, walking and classical music

What's Derek been in?

• Bergerac (1983) as Wyatt
• Minder (1980) as Harry