EXCLUSIVE: Neet Mohan, who plays Rash Masum in Casualty has opened up about life on set following the departure of Charlie Fairhead actor Derek Thompson.

Casualty star Neet Mohan, who plays Rash Masum in the long running BBC medical drama has been a staple in Holby ED since November 2017. Despite this he didn’t feature in the recent exit episode for the legendary Charlie Fairhead (played by Derek Thompson).

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, the actor explained that this was because of his character’s story arc which had seen his father die just a couple of weeks beforehand. Viewers had watched for several months as his father succumbed to dementia before tragically being hit by a bus after wadering off.

“I think after his dad died he’s kind of he got back to work but not fully and then he takes some time off. And then that’s why he’s not very present in these in Derek’s leaving episodes. He’s kind of you know, he’s sort of taken some time off so that’s why he’s not been there.”

Although he wasn’t in the pivotal episode he was back with a bang on Saturday night (March 23) as he took centre stage in a brand new story thread called Breaking Point. He is clearly struggling with recent events as Neet confirmed.

“That’s kind of that’s where we meet him (in this story) dealing with all the trauma of the loss of his dad, and where he’s at in his life, and then this professional point of his career as well. It’s just a real combination of all of the profession, all of the personal things that have happened in his life. So it’s a kind of interesting point that we find him (in Breaking Point).

Neet Mohan has played Rash Masum in Casualty since November 2017 (Image: BBC)

Rash’s return to work also marked his cousin’s first shifts in the ED. Although viewers briefly bet Tariq Hussein (Manpreet Bachu) in the episode with Rash’s father’s funeral this was the first time they got a proper introduction to him and it is clear that the cousins are very different people.

“He’s the cousin who always did better than him as well,” Neet ponders. “Rash kind of admires, kind of loves and also hates all the qualities of Tariq that comes so easily to Tariq that Rash struggles with.

“And there’s probably a bit of vice versa with that as well that Tariq probably quite admires some of the qualities Rash has that he doesn’t quite display,” he ruminates.

While Rash may have gained a family member on screen both he and Neet lost a colleague when Derek Thompson hung up Charlie Fairhead’s scrubs after 38 years. Although his final scenes were filmed quite some time ago Neet admits: “It takes some time to get used to.

“The studios are full with photos of people on the walls and the building is so big – you’ve got props, rooms and stuff like that and there’s this huge kind of larger than life size cut out of Derek upstairs,” he revealed.

Derek Thompson recently left the role of Charlie Fairhead in Casualty after an astonishing 38 years (Image: BBC)

“So it feels like he’s very much he’s very much still a part of the show, which he is in so many ways. He is Casualty.

“And the show has had the success that it’s had and the longevity that it’s had because of obviously great storytelling and all of that.

“But but also a large part is that Derek is a brilliant actor, and has played this part so well for so long. It’s amazing. It’s absolutely incredible.

“So he’s definitely he’s missed. He’s hugely missed and there will forever be a Charlie Fairhead void I think in Holby. But he’s left the show in a great place and hopefully we can kind of, you know, continue to tell these stories for a long time.