Donte Charles (portrayed by Adam Thomas) was a student at Waterloo Road Comprehensive School. His father is Clarence Charles, he is married to Chlo Charles and a father to Izzy Charles and Tommy Charles. He was leaves at the end of Series 4, but returns in Series 11 as the school's caretaker.
Personal Storyline[]
Series 1[]
In Series 1 Episode 1, Donte steals a younger child’s bus pass in order to get to school but is spotted by new deputy headteacher, Andrew Treneman. Andrew calls the police and Donte is given a warning. At break, he cuts his and his girlfriend, Chlo Grainger’s arms and promises to stay with her forever. In his first English lesson with Mr. Treneman he answers back without putting his hand up and when given multiple detentions, objects by phoning his father, Clarence. His phone is confiscated but he cheers his father on when he turns up to fight his English teacher. Clarence is arrested and Donte has the threat of foster care hanging over him. Andrew releases Clarence but Donte is embarrassed by his father’s confession in front of the whole school and Donte spends Saturday night in front of the television while his father sleeps. He phones Chlo and two other friends and they secretly go for a drive in his father’s limousine. He is tipsy and does not look where he is going, overwhelmed by Chlo’s beauty. He ends up crashing into a huge lorry, killing one of his friends.
In Episode Two, In Mr. Treneman’s lesson, one boy draws an image of Donte being hanged and so Donte tries to start a fight. Mr. Treneman sends him to the cooler, where he contemplates the day of the car crash and writes a note to Adam apologising for his death. When Hadleigh Flynn gives Donte a silent death threat that lunchtime, he flees Mr. Treneman’s watch and hides in a cupboard. Hadleigh and his cronies whip him with a belt and threaten him with a knife in the cupboard to get information from him. Mrs. Campbell comes to his rescue but delivers him to the police who take him to the police station. When Chlo visits, Donte asks her to own up to driving the car before the crash, saying he will also own up so the authorities are powerless.
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[]
Clarence leaves Rochdale briefly in series 2 and Donte plans to lose his virginity to Chlo; however their plans are foiled by Lewis Seddon and the two clash repeatedly during the series. Donte also gets on the wrong side of Chlo's mother Izzie Redpath after she learns of their intention to have sex. Upon Izzie's death however, he comforts Chlo.
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.
Series 3[]
The pair get married in the series 3 premiere despite interference from Chlo's adoptive father Tom Clarkson. Eventually, Tom warms to the marriage but it nearly ends after Chlo begins an affair with her sister's boyfriend Brett Aspinall. Donte is livid when he discovers the truth and he attacks Brett with a baseball bat; however, despite starting a relationship with Celine Dixon, still retains feelings for Chlo. This is evident after she runs away from home and a devastated Donte frantically searches for her. When Chlo is trapped in a fire at the end of term, Donte rescues her and the pair finally reunite.
Series 4[]
Series 4 sees Donte's final year of sixth form and he decides to take a more entrepreneurial route as he sells various items to the students of Waterloo Road. He supports Janeece following the death of her best friend Maxine Barlow, buys Chlo a van in which she can live her dream to be a hairdresser and later asks her to renew their wedding vows. Towards the end of the series, the Charles' marriage suffers again as Chlo is pregnant and whilst Donte is ecstatic, Chlo is not. She plans to put the baby up for adoption, to Donte's horror. However, when their daughter is born, Chlo cannot go through with the adoption to Donte's relief. He and Chlo later move to Manchester with their daughter, named Izzy after her maternal grandmother, and Chlo attends university.