EastEnders actor to have knee surgery

Written by Lynn Swift

Saturday, 06 February 2010 10:47

bbc EastEnders actor Derek Martin, who plays cabbie Charlie Slater in the BBC soap, is to undergo surgery for a new knee. The actor will have the surgery in May but bosses on the popular London soap will write his condition into the storylines – the character will be seen walking on crutches following the operation.

“My operation will probably be in the middle of May and then hopefully you'll see Charlie on crutches. It makes people aware of things that happen. They watch it and think 'Oh, that happened to someone I know, and if they go to the doctors or hospital they'll hopefully be cured” – Derek Martin quoted by the Press Association.

It’s not unusual for producers to accommodate certain conditions that actors face during the course of their time with soaps although the most common thing producers have to work around is pregnancy – and the dilemma whether or not to make the actress’ character pregnant within the soap or try various means to disguise the said pregnancy. Actor Derek Martin, who is 76, has been with EastEnders since 2000 and previously starred in a wide range of dramas such as the original Law and Order mini-series in the late 1970s on the BBC and also the short-lived 1990’s soap Eldorado. Other roles include appearances in Angels, Doctor Who, The Detectives, Softly Softly and The Gentle Touch.

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Comments (1)

|2010-02-06 13:10:35 Michael

I also remember seeing Derek clock up memorable appearances in a number of other popular dramas of the 1970s and 1980s including The Professionals, Dempsey & Makepeace and Minder usually playing a gangster's heavy.

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