Charlie Fairhead, played by Derek Thompson, is a fictional character from the BBC British medical drama Casualty. He is the longest-serving character and the only remaining original character to have appeared continuously since the first episode on 6 September 1986. Thompson chose to take a nine-month break from the show in early 2004. Charlie left the show in series 18 on 17 July 2004 and after five months, returned on 1 January 2005 in series 19. At the end of series 19, Charlie left again as Thompson returned to his break from the show, with Charlie's exit scenes airing on 20 August 2005. After four months off-screen, Charlie returned in the series 20 Christmas crossover with Holby City, which aired on 24 December 2005. Thompson has remained with the show since, but regularly takes breaks of around two months every year.