Casualty won’t release Charlie Fairhead’s exit episode early on BBC iPlayer.

The medical drama has recently followed in the footsteps of EastEnders by releasing episodes on iPlayer at 6am on the same day of their BBC One transmission, but an exception is being made for this weekend.

An announcement on Instagram read: “PSA: #Casualty won’t drop on @bbciplayer tomorrow morning! Tune in to Charlie’s final episode at 9:25pm on BBC One.”

Related: Casualty casts former EastEnders star for Charlie’s final episode

Derek Thompson is leaving the role of Charlie after 38 years, and he recently discussed his character’s departure in an interview with Digital Spy

“Charlie is everyone. Charlie is a real person,” he said, when asked why Charlie has resonated so much with viewers.

“He simply takes you into the show and plays the moral conscience of the audience. He’s a representative of the audience.”

As for his thoughts on Charlie’s final episodes, Thompson shared: “When I first read the script, I didn’t have to think about it at all, because it’s just great storytelling.

“The way Michelle Lipton wrote these episodes comes across like she’s written eight plays, taken from so many points of view. I don’t think there’s another writer who could have done it. I think my final two episodes are some of the best episodes of my career.”

How Charlie exits is still unknown right now, but things are not looking good for the beloved character as the last episode saw the senior nurse practitioner stabbed by a patient named Kyle.

As the staff rush to save his life, Charlie drifts in and out of consciousness, thinking back to the start of his career prior to working at Holby.