Charlotte King

Charlotte King is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Erika Heynatz. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 25 June 2015.

Creation and casting Script executive Dan Bennett intended for Charlotte to become the show's next villain from the start. Series producer Lucy Addario said Charlotte would be central to many plots and she would also make enemies that want to see her leave Summer Bay. On 10 January 2015, Briana Domjen of The Daily Telegraph reported that actress and singer Erika Heynatz had joined the cast of Home and Away as a school teacher. Heynatz admitted to being nervous during her audition for the role, but loved the character breakdown. She made her first screen appearance on 23 June 2015.

Development

Introduction and characterisation Charlotte is a biology teacher, who joined the staff at the local high school. 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.

Ahead of Charlotte's secret being revealed in August, a reporter for TV Week noted that "it could spell chaos for several people". 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. 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. 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. 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. 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." 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. She hacked into Denny's social media accounts to make it seem like she was alive and enjoying her overseas trip. 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. 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." 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". Gunno believed former prison inmate Darryl "Brax" Braxton (Steve Peacocke) was not dead, and he wanted Charlotte to find out information from his friends and family. 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. The incident prompted Constable Katarina Chapman (Pia Miller) to become involved and she questioned Charlotte about the nature of her relationship with Trystan. As Kat made it her mission to prove Charlotte deliberately ran down Trystan, 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. 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. 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. Dainty revealed that the character would die after being shot, but further details were being held back until the scenes were aired.

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. 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. 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. 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. An Inside Soap contributor branded Charlotte "wicked",

A Soaplife contributor stated, "Crazy Charlotte King's certainly made more than a few waves since she arrived in Summer Bay last year. In fact, she's nothing short of a one-woman tsunami." They also pointed out that Charlotte had a long list of "extra-curricular mayhem", adding "make no mistake, she's a piece of work!" After she was evicted and Hunter was kidnapped, a Sunday Mail reporter observed, "Charlotte's troubles are piling up with biblical force". They added that she went into "full vengeance mode" because of these events.

Following Charlotte's exit, a TV Week columnist quipped "Ding dong, the witch is dead!" They wrote that Charlotte had done "some terrible things" during her stint in the Bay, but believed that she was just trying to protect Hunter.