Charlotte King (Home and Away)

Charlotte is a biology teacher, who joined the staff at the local high school.[6] Heynatz said that Charlotte came to Summer Bay for a fresh start, something that the actress could relate to. Charlotte was also hiding "a secret history" that was set to affect one of the show's established couples.[6] Debbie Schipp for news.com.au commented that Charlotte would not have a low key arrival, while Heynatz added "there's no slinking into the show in the background – she definitely makes an entrance."[6] When Heynatz read the character breakdown, she was "immediately drawn to her resilience, her instincts and her duplicitous nature." Charlotte is scandalous and has many secrets.[7]

Ahead of Charlotte's secret being revealed in August, a reporter for TV Week noted that "it could spell chaos for several people".[8] During a community fundraiser for Leah Patterson-Baker (Ada Nicodemou) and Zac MacGuire (Charlie Clausen), Charlotte was caught off-guard when Hunter King (Scott Lee) turned up and told the attendees that he was her son and Zac was his father.[8][9] Zac was unaware that he had fathered a child with Charlotte and was "gobsmacked" by the revelation. As Charlotte confirmed that Hunter was his son, Zac struggled to understand how she kept it from him and ended up rejecting Hunter.[9] As Zac later forged a relationship with his son, Charlotte realised she still had feelings for him.[10] When Zac and Leah ended their engagement, Charlotte invited Zac to stay with her and Hunter. She then tried to kiss him, but he rejected her.[10]

Charlotte's first storyline was an affair with school student Matt Page (Alec Snow). She did not initially know that he was a student as they embarked on a one-night stand.[3] The storyline was first discussed by Home and Away producer Lucy Addario; who revealed to Stephen Downie of TV Week that Matt would become embroiled in a new relationship. Fearing other Summer Bay residents will not approve, they conduct their affair in secrecy.[11] Heynatz and Snow did not have time to get better acquainted before they filmed their character's first passionate encounter. Heynatz told Kerry Harvey from Stuff.co.nz that it worked well for the scene, which was a "sexy chance meeting, inherent with all its awkward moments."[7] She added that a "lasting connection" develops between the two characters, but branded their relationship a dangerous one.[7]

The couple were pushed together by Leah, who asked Charlotte to tutor Matt. Charlotte realised that she should not be with Matt, but could not help herself when he kissed her.[3] As Charlotte and Matt continued seeing each other, Maddy Osborne (Kassandra Clementi) soon found out about the relationship and urged Matt to end it.[3]

When Denny Miller (Jessica Grace Smith) made an unannounced visit to Charlotte's flat to offer Hunter her old job, she caught Charlotte with the stolen safe from the Diner.[12] As Denny realised that Hunter had been responsible for the break-in, she urged Charlotte to go to the police. A fight broke out between the two women as Denny tried to take the safe.[12] Charlotte pushed Denny away, causing her to hit her head and die.[12] Despite knowing Denny's death was an accident, Charlotte did not report it to the police. Instead, she buried Denny's body and her belongings out in the bush.[12] Heynatz commented that Charlotte would do anything to protect her son.[12] Not long after, Charlotte began suffering from hallucinations and started seeing Denny around the flat. The images continued to appear, as Charlotte worked to cover up her crime.[13] She hacked into Denny's social media accounts to make it seem like she was alive and enjoying her overseas trip.[13] One particular hallucination of Denny caused Charlotte to throw a glass at a mirror, shattering it. When Andy Barrett (Tai Hara) stops by to ask her out to dinner, he becomes worried by the scene.[13] Hara commented, "it's a side of Charlotte that Andy's never seen. Obviously seeing the glass is a shock."[13] Andy was aware that Charlotte had previously covered up the fact Hunter burnt down Leah's house. Andy believed that she might be covering for Hunter again, but Charlotte refused to talk about it.[13]

Trystan Powell, played by Ben Mingay (pictured), was introduced to stir up Charlotte's story arc.

Charlotte also became the victim of a stalker in the wake of Denny's death. She began receiving notes telling her that someone was watching her every move.[14] As she continued her affair with Matt, his friend Josh Barrett (Jackson Gallagher) asked her to end it, causing Charlotte to lash out and accuse him of sending the notes.[14] Josh then told Matt what had happened, and Matt felt obliged to offer his help. Snow said, "he wants to help her and be that man who steps up and solves all her problems."[14] Charlotte continued to struggle with the images of Denny and the presence of her stalker.[15] Heynatz told Stephen Downie of TV Week that it was a "scary time" for Charlotte. She continued, "She's carrying the burden of guilt over Denny's death and is fearful of the real threat of someone watching her."[15] The actress also said Charlotte was desperate to protect Hunter no matter what, even if it meant lying to him about her strange behaviour.[15]

When actor Ben Mingay joined the cast as Trystan Powell, he revealed that his character would cause "a massive headache" for Charlotte.[16] Mingay explained that Trystan would be stirring up Charlotte's storyline and believed that as she was disliked by a lot of viewers, Trystan would be "a bit of a welcome villain".[16] It later emerged that Trystan was Charlotte's stalker and that he was working on behalf of incarcerated criminal Trevor "Gunno" Gunson (Diarmid Heidenreich).[17] Gunno believed former prison inmate Darryl Braxton (Steve Peacocke) was not dead, and he wanted Charlotte to find out information from his friends and family.[17] Charlotte later handed over a large sum of money to Trystan, obtained from Hunter's trust fund. This caused a rift between Charlotte and Hunter and he moved in with Zac. Hunter told Zac that Charlotte had stolen from him and that she had also been having a sexual relationship with Matt.[17] When Charlotte went to Angelo's for a drink, she began flirting with Brax's brother Kyle Braxton (Nic Westaway), who was unaware that she had an ulterior motive.[17]

As Trystan continued to pressure her to find out the truth about Brax, Charlotte realised that Kyle might know something.[18] Charlotte went to his house to look for clues, but Kyle soon caught her and she made it clear that she was attracted to him.[18] Westaway told an Inside Soap writer, "Kyle has been working hard recently, so to have a gorgeous woman like Charlotte make a move on him isn't the worst thing ever!"[18] Charlotte and Kyle spent the afternoon together, and the writer noted that Kyle appeared to have fallen "hook, line and sinker" for Charlotte. When Kyle later saw Charlotte being hassled by Trystan, and then learnt that he was black mailing her, Kyle attacked him.[19] The incident prompted Constable Katarina Chapman (Pia Miller) to become involved and she questioned Charlotte about the nature of her relationship with Trystan.[19]

When Trystan demanded to know what Charlotte had found out about Brax, she begged him for more time. He then had Hunter kidnapped and dumped in the bush by the road.[19] After learning what happened, Charlotte called Trystan and confronted him in her car, where he then threatened her. Upon Trystan leaving the car, Carena Crawford from All About Soap observed "he's forgetting one thing about Ms King – she's a killer! And pushed to the extreme, she makes a split-second decision and slams on the accelerator, charging towards Trystan!"[19] After hitting Trystan with her car, Charlotte got out and looked at his body, as Irene Roberts (Lynne McGranger) arrived on the scene. When Kat came to question her, Charlotte said Trystan had stepped out in front of her.[19] However, Kat soon learned that Trystan's injuries were not consistent with Charlotte's story and she remembered that Trystan had been harassing her. When Trystan later died, Kat realised that Charlotte had not been entirely honest with her.[19]

Kat believed Charlotte was responsible for Trystan's death, and during a confrontation she told Charlotte that she would soon be able to prove it.[20] As Kat made it her mission to prove Charlotte deliberately ran down Trystan,[21] Charlotte retaliated by spiking Kat's drink at Angelo's, while Kat was in the bathroom. The drug left Kat groggy and unable to walk straight.[20] She collapsed to the ground and Charlotte took the chance to steal her gun and handcuffs. She then placed an unconscious Kat in her patrol car.[20] As she came round, Kat managed to catch Kyle's attention before collapsing again. Westaway told Melisssa Field of TV Week that the circumstances left Kyle feeling unsettled and he immediately suspected Charlotte was behind the incident.[20] Kat was rushed to the hospital, where she asked the doctor to check her blood for drugs, but the test came back negative, except for a large amount of alcohol.[21] Kat tried to explain that she had been set up, while an unsettled Kyle confronted Charlotte about the incident.[21]

Kat continued to investigate Charlotte despite being suspended for having alcohol in her system.[22] She started to suspect Charlotte might also be involved in Denny's disappearance, and confronted her about Denny's connection to Trystan and Gunno. Although Charlotte "coolly pleads her ignorance", it left Kat more suspicious of her.[22] Desperate not to get caught out by Kat, Charlotte targeted her again.[22][23] As Kat was searching through Denny's belongings at the Farmhouse, she was hit from behind by two men and left next to the oven with the gas on.[23] Charlotte then received a text message informing her that Kat had been dealt with per her plan. Charlotte was "filled with relief that her problem has seemingly been sorted".[23]

In November 2015, Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy reported that a major character would be killed off in the season finale, broadcast on 9 December.[24] Dainty revealed that the character would die after being shot, but further details were being held back until the scenes were aired.[24] TV Week confirmed that the victim would be either Charlotte, Hunter, Kat or Ash. Dainty added that the repercussions of the death would continue into 2016.[24] On 9 December, Charlotte was revealed to be the victim when she was shot by an unseen culprit, who she knew.[25]

In the lead up to the shooting, Charlotte gatecrashed Zac and Leah's wedding intent on getting revenge. She was also carrying Kat's stolen gun in her bag.[26] During the ceremony, Charlotte announced that she knew all of the secrets in Summer Bay and was prepared to expose them. Hunter managed to lead her away, but they argued and Charlotte said that she had sacrificed everything for him. She eventually left the wedding, which continues without any more problems.[26] During the reception, Kat informs Denny's family that Charlotte was responsible for her death. Elsewhere, Kyle informed Andy and Josh that she had threatened him. While Andy admitted that she knew he had killed Jake Pirovic (Fletcher Humphrys). Ash told Phoebe that he had to stop Charlotte telling Ricky that Brax is still alive, while Hunter left town.[26] Charlotte was standing near the local pool when she heard someone approach her. There was a brief fight and she is shot. Charlotte's body then falls into the sea.[26]

Charlotte's death started a "whodunit" storyline. There were ten suspects, which included Evelyn MacGuire (Philippa Northeast), Oscar MacGuire (Jake Speer), Zac MacGuire, Irene Roberts, Hunter King, Leah Patterson-Baker, Andy Barrett, Josh Barrett, Matt Page, Kyle Braxton, Martin Ashford (George Mason) and Olivia Fraser Richards (Raechelle Banno).[27] Nicodemou explained that the cast and crew did not know the identity of the shooter, and each suspect filmed a different ending to keep the conclusion to the storyline from being leaked.[27] Viewers were invited to download an app, so they could begin their own investigation. Nicodemou thought it would be funny if someone worked it out before the cast did.[27] She also said that it would take a while for the truth to come out and that some people would be wrongly accused. She quipped, "Basically Charlotte is dead but she keeps ruining all our lives in the Bay for a long time."[27] Nicodemou added that she always knew Heynatz's character would be killed off, but asked the series producer not to make her bad, as she wanted Heynatz to stay around for longer.[27]

In a 90-minute episode broadcast on 5 May 2016, Charlotte's killer was revealed to be Josh.[28] After looking at the evidence one last time, Kat realised that a piece recovered from the crime scene belonged to Josh. When she confronted him, he explained that his motives for killing Charlotte were Denny's murder and her knowledge of Andy's role in Jake Pirovic's death.[28] Flashbacks revealed that Josh had regained his sight that evening and he went to find Charlotte. She aimed the gun at Josh, but in the ensuing struggle, he ended up shooting her.[28]