Sunetra Sarker quit the long-running BBC medical drama in 2016, after more than eight years playing Dr Zoe Hanna, and made the surprise announcement of her return during Loose Women
Casualty star Sunetra Sarker has confirmed she’s returning to the long-running BBC medical drama seven years after she quit.
The actress made the surprise announcement during Friday’s edition of Loose Women, appearing alongside co-hosts Kaye Adams, Dame Kelly Holmes, and Jane Moore as she revealed her exciting news. “This week, I might have gone back to a certain hospital that I used to work at called Holby City hospital,” Sunetra cryptically teased. “I’m going back to Casualty,” she added, as the audience erupted with applause.
“It must be seven years I left in 2016 and yeah, it has been a while,” she shared, as she revealed she was reprising her role as Dr Zoe Hanna for just two episodes of the long-running hospital drama to bid farewell to Derek Thompson, who is leaving Casualty after 37 years playing senior nurse Charlie Fairhead. “I’m going back for a special double episode because our lovely Charlie who has been there forever is going to leave the show. So I’m going back to make sure I get my last little moment with him,” Sunetra explained.
Sunetra appeared on Casualty for more than eight years before she quit the show in 2016 because she wanted to “find something very different” after almost a decade on the medical drama. The 50-year-old landed a role on Channel 4’s comedy drama Ackley Bridge, and confessed she wanted to find a character who was so far removed from Dr Zoe Hanna.