Derek Thompson ‘sad’ over Casualty move to Cardiff

{jcomments on}Casualty actor Derek Thompson has said he is ‘sad’ over the medical dramas move to Cardiff.

After 25 years in Bristol the Saturday evening drama is moving to Cardiff to the BBC’s new studios there where filming for Doctor Who and Upstairs Downstairs will also take place. The BBC’s decision to move production from Bristol to Cardiff has been rather controversial with a campaign launched to keep Casualty in the city that has been its home for 25 years.

“I’d say well done for trying – I was one of you. I raised my voice, I got out on the streets handing out leaflets. But it was like throwing a snowball into a furnace. This day and age people are apathetic so it shows the notion of ownership people in Bristol had – they would only do that if they cared.” – Derek Thompson in the Evening Post

Thompson is the last remaining original cast member on Casualty having played Charlie Fairhead since the very first episode. The actor also appeared in the first episode of Holby City when it launched in 1999 and the first episode of police spin-off Holby Blue in 2007. Thompson appeared in a further episode of Holby City in 2010 when his character needed medical treatment.

“I’m still sad it’s leaving Bristol, not just because it’s convenient for me but because it’s meant a lot to Bristol over the years. Bristol is losing out. My first thought was that it was like moving Taggart to Birmingham – how are they going to move Casualty to Cardiff? That’s a product of BBC bureaucracy that’s never been explained, and that I’m not at all sympathetic with.”- Derek Thompson in the Evening Post

There are now rumours that BBC One’s daytime soap Doctors may move to Salford from its current home in Birmingham. A few media sites reported last week that BBC staff in Birmingham fear the corporation will move production out of the city to Salford meaning the medical soap would have to move as well.