Four decades in a hospital A&E will take its 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 as he discussed his life and career with hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls.
But fans were more concerned about what appeared to be an awkward dynamic as she fielded questions from Balls and Reid, who once starred with Thompson as a child actress in the 1985 drama The Price.
In X, they wrote: ‘I thought Derek Thompson was awkward and awkward;
Derek Thomson reunited with Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, 39 years after they worked together on TV drama The Price.
Thompson, who spent 38 years playing Charlie Fairhead on Casualty, looked remarkably fresh as he discussed his life and career with hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls.
The actor decided to leave the BBC flagship earlier this year and has now taken on a new role in ITV drama Blue Bloods.
‘What the hell was that interview with Derek Thompson about? Why is Ed Balls so awkward and weird?
‘When Derek Thompson says ‘that’s interesting,’ you know it’s not;
‘Derek Thompson is very strange…;
‘Watching Derek Thompson being interviewed is like walking through mud. He’s a bit of an idiot.
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 as a 13-year-old on The Price;
“It was nice to have Derek Thompson come back to give Susanna a little gift that was so cute.”
The actor spent almost four decades on Casualty and the star has hinted that he will tell all about his time on the show in an upcoming memoir.
During his appearance on Good Morning Britain, Susanna Reid asked him why he left the show and he replied: “That’s all quite confusing.”
But fans were more concerned about what appeared to be an awkward dynamic when he answered questions from Balls and Reid on Monday morning.
Thompson as Robin Graham in a scene from Blue Bloods, his first project since leaving Casualty.
Then he added: “It’s confusing because there is a truth and the truth has been quite embellished.”
Thompson didn’t want to explain everything, but told Reid that she and everyone else can find the answer in his book.
He said: “So I can’t answer that question, but I’m creating a memoir of my entire career and my early years in Belfast, so you’ll have to buy the book.”
In March, the Casualty legend said saying goodbye to the show after 38 years was a “big and emotional” moment.
He said OK! magazine about her exit: ‘I don’t want to spoil it by saying whether she survives or not, but everything felt intensified when I filmed my last scenes.
“It felt like one of those big emotional moments in life, like the birth of a child or a wedding.”
Derek, who met his real-life second wife, Dee Sadler, on the show, never imagined becoming the last remaining original cast member when he first landed the role.
Viewers offered a mixed response to her interview on Monday’s Good Morning Britain.
The star has hinted that she will tell all about her time on Casualty in an upcoming memoir.
He said: ‘No, I never imagined I would stay 38 years.
“I originally signed up for three years, but I soon realized what a great character I was going to play. Both medicine and television have changed a lot since I started.
“But the basics are still there: the reception area and the counter where people sit still perform the same function as on the 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.
‘He’s someone who does something extraordinarily consistently. I see myself as a long distance runner, one who never gives up and keeps going…’