Casualty star confirms BBC return after seven years to bid farewell to Charlie

Former Casualty star Sunetra Sarker has revealed she’ll be reprising her role as Dr. Zoe Hanna. The 50-year-old played the fan-favourite in the BBC drama for almost a decade before leaving in 2016. However, she confirmed on Friday’s Loose Women,  viewers will see her character return in light of Charlie Fairhead’s (played by Derek Thompson) upcoming exit. Sharing the news on the ITV show, she said: ‘I can’t give too much away right, but I do get asked about this a lot. ‘This week, I was in the hospital but not as a patient, I might have gone back to a certain hospital that I used to work at.’ Sunetra revealed she’ll be back in Casualty for a double episode (Image: ITV) After sharing her news, the live audience erupted into a cheer and applause as Sunetra explained more about her reprisal. Mentioning she left in 2016, she added: ‘It’s been a while! Eight years nearly since I’ve been there. ‘I’m going back for a special double episode because our lovely Charlie who’s 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. That was a really nice thing this week, I’ve been filming with them.’ Sunetra played Dr Zoe for nearly a decade before leaving in 2016 (Image: BBC) Sunetra went on to salute the real NHS workers after reprising her role as Dr. Zoe as she told the Loose Women panel there’s so much to learn. Charlie Fairhead has been a staple in Casualty for almost four decades and is the only remaining character from when the first episode aired in 1986. Filming until the autumn of this year, fans can expect to see Charlie’s final moments on-screen next year. Although it’s not yet been revealed how he’ll bow out from the show, many have speculated his farewell will be emotional regardless. Inspired by a real-life nurse called Pete Salt, Charlie’s character has been involved in some dramatic and heartwarming storylines. Sunetra is reprising her role in light of Charlie Fairhead’s exit (Image: BBC) In a statement speaking about his exit, Derek said: ‘The time has come for me to hang up Charlie’s scrubs after the most wonderful 37 years. ‘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. “I want to say thanks to Pete and everyone else over that time who has inspired me in bringing this character to life.” Casualty continues Saturday on BBC One from 8:10pm