Derek Thompson (actor)

Early life

Thompson has a twin sister, Elaine Thompson. From their teenage years, they combined to form the singing duo Elaine and Derek. They recorded four albums and 15 EP's together. They sang in harmonies, and released one eponymously titled album, on the Parlophone label in 1961. They then formed folk trio Odin's People with Larry Johns, who recorded two singles in 1967. Derek appeared in the feature film Gonks Go Beat (1965) and before landing his big break in Casualty, he acted in repertory in places such as Perth, Birmingham, London and Newcastle.

Career

In the mid-1960s, Thompson worked as Stage Manager in the Nonentities Theatre in Kidderminster. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Thompson became a regular face in BBC and ITV dramas. Appearances included Softly Softly, Play for Today, and Rock Follies of 77. He got a big break in Harry's Game, where he played the lead IRA gunman opposite fellow irish actor Hazel O'Connor. Later he played another IRA hitman in the TV series The Price and for a British mercenary gang in the Wild Geese II, both in shot in 1985.

During late 1970s and early 1980s Thompson had a number of minor film roles. In Yanks (1979) and Breaking Glass (1980), and also played Jeff, Harold Shand's lieutenant, in the box office hit Hollywood movie The Long Good Friday. Before he appeared in Casualty, he had a recurring role, as DS Jimmy Fenton, in the ITV police drama The Gentle Touch.

Casualty

Thompson began portraying Charlie Fairhead in Casualty in 1986. That same year he met his future wife, Dee Sadler, an actress playing Maggie, who had to be rescued from a cave before hospitalisation. Thompson has currently played the role of Charlie for over 30 years, and is the only remaining character from the original cast. In 2004 his character went on a six-month sabbatical, which remains his most notable absence from the show. Currently, he is allowed a few months off from filming per year. Apart from Casualty, he has also played Charlie in the spin-off shows Holby City and HolbyBlue. It was revealed in July 2017, that Thompson was the BBC's highest paid actor earning between £350,000 and £400,000 over the last financial year.

Family

As of 2010, Thompson lived in a rented flat in Bristol and also owns a house in Brixton. He and his wife have a son, who appeared as a baby in one episode of Casualty, and he also has an older son by a previous marriage to Christine, a theatre director.

A sufferer of dystonia, Thompson became patron of the Dystonia Society in 2006.

Theatre