Derek Thompson has announced his exit from Casualty after 37 years playing Charlie Fairhead.
The 75-year-old has been part of the cast of the drama since its first ever episode in September 1986 and has since gone on to appear in over 900 episodes.
Thompson has decided that the time is now right for him to bow out, however, and will leave in a "gripping" final storyline airing in early 2024.
"The time has come for me to hang up Charlie's scrubs after the most wonderful 37 years," he said.
"Charlie Fairhead was inspired by a real nurse – Pete Salt. Together with the writers and producers, I have tried to bring to Charlie the compassion, kindness, heroism and sound judgement that we all see and love in Pete and I want to say thanks to Pete and everyone else over that time who has inspired me in bringing this character to life."
Exec producer Jon Sen added: "Derek and I would often joke that, after such a long and dramatic career in the NHS, there was almost nothing that Charlie hadn't seen.
"So it was an amazing surprise to me when Derek arrived with a brilliant idea for Charlie's exit as part of an upcoming storyline, which was too good to pass up.
"We will all miss Derek enormously. Over nearly four decades, Derek has crafted an iconic character who is woven into the fabric of British TV history. We will miss his craft, his humour and his on-screen presence. We're also going to miss a friend, so for the next few months we're going to have a ball filming Charlie's final chapter."
Casualty continues Saturday nights on BBC One and iPlayer. body check tags ::
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