Charles Dale was born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire in 1963. His father ran a record shop in Tenby and both his parents were keen amateur actors. After leaving school in 1979, he became an assistant stage manager (through a Youth Opportunity Scheme) at the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven, where he stayed for a year. After occasional acting roles, he moved to London and trained at LAMDA.He broke into television, when he appeared in Morgan's Boy (1984) and also worked consistently for the English Shakespeare Company. His big break came, when he appeared as the Chef, in a television series The Lakes (1997). He appeared in a couple of West End shows and played Dennis in Coronation Street (1960) for eighteen months. He later appeared as Clive, in Paradise Heights (2002) for the BBC with Neil Morrissey and Ralf Little as well as its spin-off The Eustace Bros. (2003). Further roles emerged in ITV's Steel River Blues (2004) and a children's series Barking! (2004) in 2004. He is married and lives in Wales with their son. He is a private family man who does not court publicity.