Chloé "Chlo" Charles (1991-2023; née Grainger) married her boyfriend Donte Charles as soon as she turned sixteen in the hope that she would have the stability that was lacking in her life after her mother was murdered. She embarked on an affair with her sister Mika's boyfriend Brett Aspinall, but once it is out of her system, her relationship with Donte grows even stronger. Donte presents her with a rundown old van for a mobile hairdressing business so that she can start to fulfil her dreams, but Chlo again has doubts when she discovers that she is pregnant.
Following Izzie's death, Tom Clarkson looks after Chlo and Mika until they leave the series at the end of Series 4.
She graduated from Waterloo Road and left for university, moving to Manchester with Donte and their daughter Izzy, named after her mother, Izzie Redpath, who was sadly killed by Lewis Seddon's cousin, Jed, at the end of Series 2.
On Izzy's first day at Waterloo Road High School, Chlo was involved in a car accident, where she was knocked over by a civilian's car, caused by a road dispute involving teacher Coral Walker. Chlo ignored advice to get a head x-ray and later collapsed in Donte's arms, and died in hospital from a subarachnoid haemorrhage.
Personality
Chlo's a bright girl who wants to do well at school but life has been traumatic for her, having to come to terms with the loss of her mum, Izzie, who was murdered in the school grounds. Looking for comfort and stability, she married boyfriend Donte Charles as soon as she turned sixteen, much to Tom's horror, but despite a brief fling with her sister's boyfriend, her relationship with Donte has grown stronger, and Tom has now fully accepted them as a couple.
Chlo is determined to become a hairdresser, and Donte presents her with a rundown old van for a mobile hairdressing business, so she can start to fulfil her dreams, but this seems to be destined to failure before it really starts when she finds herself pregnant.
Series 1
Chlo first appears in Series 1 Episode 1 as typical rebellious teenager. Her mother, Izzie, disapproves of her boyfriend, Donte, but Chlo doesn't care. That evening Chlo and Mika are being looked after by their father, Jimmy Grainger. However, with persuasion from Chlo, he leaves Chlo and Mika alone. Chlo decides to take the opportunity to meet her boyfriend Donte. This leads Chlo to become involved in a limousine crash with Donte, her best friend Holly and Donte's best friend Adam Deardon. Adam is killed, Holly is left in a coma, Donte is left with cuts and Chlo with a broken arm.
When Donte is imprisoned, he relies on Chlo to get him out. Chlo becomes stressed and her schoolwork begins to suffer. It is revealed that a drunk Chlo climbed onto Donte and obscured his view of the road, which lead to the crash. When she refuses to take the blame for Donte, they break up, however reconcile later on. In court, Donte is found guilty by the judge, despite Chlo's best efforts in admitting the truth.
Series 2
Chlo becomes good friends with Maxine Barlow and Janeece Bryant. Chlo and Donte plan to marry, and they become extremely close. Izzie catches Donte touching Chlo's behind, and is forced to have a talk about sex with her.
Around this time, Izzie starts a relationship with fellow English teacher Tom Clarkson. Following Lorna's death and Stacey Appleyard climbing into Tom's bed when she Was sleeping over, family matters become tense. Tom and Izzie reconcile and get engaged, however, Izzie is stabbed by Jed Seddon at the end of Series 2 and dies in the arms of headmaster Jack Rimmer, whom she was trying to defend from Jed.
Series 3
Chlo and Mika are looked after by Tom following their mother's death. Donte and Chlo tie the knot, however Tom unexpectedly shows up at the wedding. They decide to continue the service and they go to the pub after. Chlo apologises to Tom and tells him that she misses her Mum.
Donte rents a flat for him and Chlo and surprises her at lunchtime. Chlo isn't very fond of the flat.
When Brett Aspinall offers to give Chlo extra French lessons, they begin to get close and eventually end up kissing. Even though they both know it is wrong, they end up sleeping together, and agree to never speak of it again. Chlo's relationship with Donte begins to suffer, so Donte prepares a romantic dinner for Chlo. Donte catches Chlo and Brett sleeping together and ends up revealing it to Mika. Chlo and Mika fight, and Janeece gets Tom to break up the fight. Mika tells Chlo she never wants to see her again, which causes Chlo to run away from her home in Rochdale.
She meets a woman named Lucy at an internet café and is invited to stay at her boyfriend's flat. Lucy forces Chlo to shoplift and she realises something is going on. Meanwhile, Donte is desperately searching for her after Brett shows him a flyer of Chlo, missing. Chlo was forced to kiss one of Lucy's friends for £20 per kiss and is forced to watch them sleep together. She excuses herself to the bathroom and calls Tom, who calls the police to her location. As she attempts to leave, she is caught and is intimidated up the stairs. Eventually, the police arrest them and Chlo is saved.
When she arrives back home after that ordeal, she and Donte do not reconcile, and headteacher Rachel Mason tries to get Chlo, Donte, Mika and Brett to become civil again. Donte starts dating Celine Dixon, one of the bullies who helped Leigh-Ann Galloway to set up the hate site about Mika. Celine becomes increasingly jealous of Chlo and Donte, who still harbour feelings for one and other. When a large fire starts from an improperly switched off gas canister in the school canteen, Chlo is trapped in the girls toilets and calls Donte for help. With the help of Tom, she is saved and they begin dating again. Celine is seen crying on the grass and is not seen again.
Series 4
Chlo has ambitions to become a hairdresser, and Donte surprises her with a rusty, worn-down van, which he turns into a mobile hairdressers - Chlo's Cutz. She caters to a number of students but turns down Earl Kelly, with suspicions of him. She burns Grantly Budgen's £450 wig and is forced to pay him the money for repairs. During this time, Donte and Chlo buy a flat and customise it, however, their bank cards become overdrawn and they are forced to sell it.
Chlo becomes pregnant and is scared to tell Donte. She eventually does and Donte is more than pleased, however, Chlo is not as excited. In Series 4 Episode 9 she is left upset following the death of her close friend Maxine Barlow. Donte plans for the two of them to renew their vows. In the same episode the school release balloons in Maxine's honour.
In Series 4 Episode 11, Kim Campbell returns and helps Chlo to decide to go to university and follow her dreams, which leads to her and Donte having a long argument and Donte, in anger, ending up wrecking her van. Kim also persuades Chlo to give up hairdressing, which leads to her walking out of her NVQ exam. When picking universities, she considers Manchester, but Kim persuades her to look at some in London that cater for young mothers with babies. Donte disapproves and tries to change the decision.
Chlo also helps Flick Mellor get back together with Marley Kelly. The two of them are shown to be close friends.
Later, during a walk in the park, Chlo tells Donte she wants to give the baby up for adoption. Kim brings a lawyer into school, to try and settle the argument between Chlo and Donte, who has reacted badly to Chlo's desire to give up the baby, and wants a divorce. Later on, she gives birth to her daughter Izzy Charles in the toilets surrounded by Janeece, Donte and Kim. Rachel Mason later pokes her head in to see Chlo. At the hospital, Chlo decides she doesn't want to give up the baby after all, and at the end of the series, Chlo, Donte and Izzie move to Manchester for University. They are not seen on the show again.
Series 6
Chlo is mentioned in Series 6 Episode 3 by Tom when he tries to reassure Janeece Bryant that she will be a good mother, mentioning how Chlo agreed to let Janeece have Izzy's old baby clothes. Janeece, however, remarked that unlike Chlo she didn't have a Donte to look after her, leading her to realise she didn't want her baby.
Series 11
Chlo is seen in Series 11 Episode 1 accompanying her daughter Izzy to school for a meeting with headteacher Kim Campbell. As Chlo crosses the road, she drops her notes between two stationary cars. Chlo crouches down to pick her notes up, and at the same time, paint is thrown onto the windscreen of the car behind the car closest to Chlo, driven by Coral Walker. Coral is startled by the paint and accidentally shoots forward, shunting the car in front of her forward, knocking over Chlo as her daughter watched.
After what she assumes to be a minor injury, Chlo is taken into the school alongside her daughter by teacher Amy Spratt. With the school nurse absent, Spratt tends to Chlo's injured wrist and assumes her to be fine, but advises a trip to A&E, just in case her wrist is broken. Chlo decides not to go to A&E, and instead meets with Kim before returning home.
In the evening, Chlo is seen eating dinner with her husband Donte, and her children, Izzy and Tommy. After they finish, Donte and Chlo clean up in the kitchen, where Chlo begins to feel a pain in her head which she puts down to alcohol, however, seconds later, Chlo collapses just as Izzy enters the room, and is completely unresponsive. Donte screams for Izzy to call an ambulance as he tries to wake her.
In the episode's closing scene, Donte is seen arriving at the hospital with his children looking for Chlo, and he is then informed by a doctor that Chlo has died from her head injury.
Trivia
- Chlo is one of the original members of the girls' football team.
- Before she moved into a flat with Donte, Chlo lived at 34 Paletine Road, Rochdale.
- She is very good friends with Maxine, Janeece and Flick.
- Chlo and Donte were the first characters to get married before finishing school. The second was student Jonah Kirby, who eloped to Gretna Green with teacher Francesca Montoya in Series 6, and the third and most recent was Connor Mulgrew and Imogen Stewart in Series 8.
- Graffiti saying "Donte loves Chlo" can be seen on the lockers until the school closed at the end of Series 7.
- Chlo returned in Series 11, serving as a parent, however died in the first episode after collapsing due to an undiagnosed head injury.
Quotes
- "Mum, can I have half of next week's pocket money now?" (first line)
- "Are you taking advantage of me because I'm drunk?"
- Chlo: "What if a mad axe man breaks in? What do we tell him? We don't know where our mum is?"
- Izzie: "Tell him to ring me on my mobile."
- "I don't want to be on my own! I miss my mum so much!"
- "I don't wanna be the school freakshow! You know, the girl everyone looks at because she was dumb enough to get herself pregnant?!" (Series 4 Episode 7, replayed as one of the quotes from past and present characters heard at the end of Series 10 Episode 20)
- "But Tom, you can't afford this!" (final line of her first stint)
- "Come on, come on come on come on come on..." (muttering at her laptop, first line upon her return in Series 11)
- "Something's happening, Donte..." (final line)