Four decades in a hospital A&E will take their toll on anyone, but Derek Thompson still managed to impress fans with his youthful appearance on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain.
And Thompson – who spent 38-years on the show before leaving in 2024 – looked remarkably fresh faced while discussing his life and career with hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls.
But fans were more concerned with what appeared to be an awkward dynamic as he fielded questions from Balls and Reid, who once starred with Thompson as a child actress in 1985 drama The Price.
Taking to X, they wrote: ‘I think Derek Thompson was awkward and weird;
Derek Thomson reunited with Susanna Reid on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain, 39-years after they worked together on TV drama The Price
Thompson – who spent 38-years playing Charlie Fairhead in Casualty – looked remarkably fresh faced while discussing his life and career with hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls
The actor chose to leave the BBC flagship earlier this year and has now taken a new role in ITV drama Blue Bloods
‘What the f**k was that Derek Thompson interview all about?? Why is Ed Balls so awkward and weird?
‘When Derek Thompson says ‘it’s interesting that’, you know it isn’t;
‘Derek Thompson is very strange…;
‘Watching Derek Thompson being interviewed is like wading through mud. He’s a bit of a d**k.’
However others were more charitable with their responses, adding: ‘It was nice to see Derek Thompson on GMB and what it was like working with Susanna when she was 13 years old in The Price;
‘That was nice of Derek Thompson returning to give Susanna a little gift that was so nice.’
The actor spent almost four decades on Casualty and the star has hinted he will tell all about his time on the programme in an upcoming memoir.
During his appearance on Good Morning Britain, he was asked by Susanna Reid why he left the show, and he replied: ‘That’s all rather confused.’
But fans were more concerned with what appeared to be an awkward dynamic as he fielded questions from Balls and Reid on Monday morning
Thompson as Robin Graham in a scene from Blue Bloods, his first project since leaving Casualty
He then added: ‘It’s confused in that there is a truth and the truth has been rather garnished.’
Thompson didn’t wish to explain all but told Reid that she and everyone else can find out the answer in his book.
He said: ‘So I can’t answer that question, but I’m creating a memoir of the whole of my career and my early life in Belfast so you’re going to have to buy the book.”
In March, the Casualty legend told how bidding farewell to the show after 38 years was a “big emotional” moment.
He told OK! magazine of his exit: ‘I don’t want to spoil it by saying whether or not he survives, but everything felt heightened when I filmed my last scenes.
‘It felt like one of those big emotional moments in your life, like the birth of a child or your wedding.’
Derek – who met his real-life second wife, Dee Sadler, on the show – never imagined becoming the last remaining original member of the cast when he first landed the role.
Viewers offered a mixed response to his interview on Monday’s Good Morning Britain
The star has hinted he will tell all about his time on Casualty in an upcoming memoir
He said: ‘No, I never envisaged I’d stay 38 years.
‘I originally signed up for three years, but it soon became apparent what a great character he was to play. Medicine and television have both changed a lot since I started.
‘But the basics are still there – the reception area and desk where people roll up is still performing the same function it did on my first day.’
Despite being considered a TV legend, Derek admitted he feels like “a long-distance runner”.
He laughed: ‘No, I don’t see myself as a legend.
‘That’s someone who does something extraordinarily consistently. I see myself as a long-distance runner – one that never gives up and just keeps on going…’
