Charles Dale is known for his roles on Casualty, as Big Mac, Chef in dark 90s drama The Lakes, Dennis Stringer of Coronation Street, recently he’s been spotted in ITV’s heavy hitters The Pembrokeshire Murders and Unforgotten

With grueling schedules and intense scrutiny, it’s no wonder many soap opera stars decide to run away from fame.

Acting isn’t always a long-term career option, and many former soap stars have retired from the spotlight to support their families and return to quieter lives.

But a former Coronation Street actor has been found doing a fairly normal job, while continuing to enjoy a very successful acting career.

Charles Dale has been found to run his family record store in the small Welsh seaside town of Tenby in Pembrokeshire.

Known for his roles on Casualty, like Big Mac, Chef in dark 90s drama The Lakes, Dennis Stringer of Coronation Street, he was recently spotted in ITV heavy hitters The Pembrokeshire Murders and Unforgotten.

But between roles, Charles can be found chatting to customers behind the counter at Dale’s Music as he operates the family business that has been with the Dales since 1947, when Charles’ grandfather owned the store. music, and dad Laurie, took the store over in 1964.

He runs the shop with his sister Linzi and her husband Richard, and as if Charles wasn’t busy enough, he’s also a newly appointed Tenby councilman.

“I look at things and sometimes I think ‘this needs to be fixed’, he told Wales Online of his new role as advisor. “And I don’t know if I can, but I can definitely come in and say, can we fix this? How can we fix this? You know, weird things, toilets, parking lot, you know, garbage. Those little things.”

Charles left his beloved Tenby at the age of 17 to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He stayed away for 20 years before being brought back to his roots when the sense of hiraeth got too strong.

The actor spends time traveling the world with theatrical productions, performing on Broadway and has a CV full of appearances in British TV classics, from Lovejoy, Touch of Frost and the BBC’s Sherwood to his bigger roles. prominent in Corrie, Casualty and The Pembrokeshire Murders, all while maintaining the family shop alongside her sister, Linzi.

“I try to do different things and I think that’s hampered my career to some degree,” he told the publication. “Because they like to put you in boxes and if you can find a niche and sit in it, it can do you a lot of good.

“But, I don’t act for any other reason than I like doing it and what’s the point of doing something you don’t like repeating the same thing over and over again. Some actors out there who do the same performance every time and you just say “really?” Try to be someone different, that’s the job.”

Even though he spent nine and two years on Casualty and Coronation Street respectively, he still managed to keep things interesting.

“You have to find a balance,” he explained. “I really enjoyed Corrie, I had a great time socially, it was a great cast, If Gregson is my son’s godfather, you know, Steve McDonald, I had some great friends up there .

“I loved Manchester, it’s a great city, then Casualty, for the first four years I shuttled from Cardiff to Bristol, then just when I was getting to the point where I was like: “I can’t do this anymore. ‘ And then they moved to Cardiff, two minutes from my house, so I could see my son grow up and that’s a real plus for the actors, because we’re away. We’re not home, it’s just the nature of the beast.”

Work has been a little quieter for the TV veteran so far this year, but the new councilman doesn’t care. “That’s also good really. I have a shop to run,” he laughed.