EXCLUSIVE: Emmerdale’s Susan Cookson has spoken about being asked to return to Casualty for Charlie’s exit story and whether it could happen that Maggie finally ends up with Charlie.

Emmerdale’s Susan Cookson has spoken exclusively to express.co.uk on the red carpet at the Inside Soap Awards about whether she’d ever go back to Casualty.

Susan, 58, played Maggie Coldwell on the BBC medical drama from 2005 to 2008 and returned for guest appearances in 2009 and 2015.

But with news that her love interest on the show Charlie Fairhead, played by Derek Thompson, set to leave Holby for good, she was asked whether there’s any chance her character could be revived for his exit storyline.

She said: “Yes, I would. I would. And there was a phone call made, but I’m contracted to Emmerdale, so it was just never gonna happen.”

She went on to say: “But I’d always kind of thought, even before I got the Emmerdale job, I always thought, well, I wonder if they would ever get me back, or whether they would finally get Charlie and Maggie back together and they go off into the sunset, and they get married, which is what was gonna happen.”

Susan spoke to our reporter at the Inside Soap Awards (Image: Getty)

She went on to say: “But it wasn’t meant to be, sadly, because, you know, contracts are contracts. And it would have been, even if I could have got time off, I just don’t see how he would have played a nurse to go back on the opposite channel to play another medical professional.”

Derek Thompson, 75, has been part of the Casualty cast for 37 years, appearing in the very first episode broadcast.

The Belfast-born actor announced his decision to hang up fictional scrubs earlier this year, with his final scenes due to be aired next year.

Charlie with Duffy who he moved on with after Maggie left (Image: Getty)

Susan also spoke about how she remains close to her fellow cast members, saying that she had recently spent the weekend with her friend Suzanne Packer, who played Tess in the show.

But speaking about whether we’ll ever see Derek Thompson on our screens again, she also told our reporter: “But, um, I don’t think I’ve seen the last of him.

“I have it on good authority that we haven’t seen the last of him. I don’t mean Casualty-wise, but…he’ll be back”.

Susan has plenty of form for playing medical professionals on screen as she’s currently playing nurse Wendy Posner in ITV’s Emmerdale since 2019.

Soap fans will also recognise her from her roles in Coronation Street, Clocking Off and Doctors.