Chlo's death in Waterloo Road helped Adam Thomas process grief for lost father

Waterloo Road aired a big tragedy as viewers were shocked to see Chlo Charles (Katie Griffiths) die in the first episode of the brand new series.

And actor Adam Thomas, who plays Chlo’s grieving husband and childhood sweetheart Donte, has opened up about how the storyline helped him process the grief following the loss of his own father.

In an exclusive chat with Metro.co.uk, the former Emmerdale actor explained that his dad died while he was about to start working on the major storyline.

‘I think with grief people go through so much, there’s ups and downs, good days and bad days,’ he told us.

‘For me personally I was also going through my own grief when I lost my dad as well, and not long after that I got this storyline.

‘So researching about grief and trying to understand it a lot more, I possibly would never have done that if it wasn’t for the character in this storyline and it helped me with my own grief as well, it helped me understand that a lot better.’

And it certainly helped him portray what Donte is going through, with the character experiencing a whirlwind of devastation and explosive anger.

On playing the scenes, he said: ‘It was amazing and I tried to put a little bit of myself into it as well and tried to use my own experience about the grief and about his anger issues, because it’s not plain sailing for Donte throughout the series.

‘He finds it quite hard at first and I think he sort of tries to pull things together at the end of the series but he’s still got a lot of work to do.’

One of the most notable points moving forward is how Donte’s daughter Izzie, who is played by Adam’s niece Scarlett, becomes a pillar of strength.

‘I think the dynamic we wanted to work on the most was that she becomes sort of like this motherly figure, ‘ the actor reflected.

‘He withdraws through each episode and she takes care of him, really. He’s the one who’s basically lost and his life’s been turned upside down. He’s not necessarily thinking about his kids at first.

‘It’s just about him and he can’t believe what’s happened to him, he’s in a state of shock. But to have Izzie there to hold his hand throughout, she’s been like the rock he needed.

‘Together they’re working on their relationship and trying to get themselves through it. I think he’s be lost without Izzie, for sure.’

And Adam couldn’t be prouder of Scarlett, as well as his own son Teddy who plays Donte’s other child Teddy in the show.

‘There’s not many jobs that come along where you get to work with your son and little niece, and the fact that we get to go back to one of the first jobs I was ever in and I get to take them on that journey and be on that journey with them,’ he enthused.

‘I just watched them grow throughout the series, which was amazing. Scarlett is just unbelievable and I’m just so proud of both of them and I can’t wait for the world to see what they have in store, really.’

Chlo’s death certainly will leave a lasting impact on Donte, but Adam was also stunned by the plot twist.

‘I didn’t actually know at first, they just said that Donte and Chlo are going to be back and they’re going to have a big family and all this, and that really excited me,’ he recalled.

‘That was the initial meeting I had in the first place, then I think later down the line when it got green lit, they then told me they were going to kill Chlo off in episode one. I didn’t see it coming at all.

‘But I think it gives it that dramatic shock factor, especially in episode one. You come back, it’s all happy families and then this sudden death happens at the end of episode one.

‘It’s great for me as an actor to basically get my teeth into such a great storyline, following the journey that Donte goes on. Basically how his life gets turned upside down and it’s him now trying to bring up his two kids when his wife was everything and basically ruled the house and looked after everyone.

‘Now he has to step up to the plate and take a lot on. It basically follows Donte on that journey throughout the series, which was great as an actor to play.’

And he can’t wait to return for series two to further explore how Donte grows from this.

‘This is a dream job for me,’ he grinned. ‘I think the journey has just begun for Donte and there’s so much more to explore.

‘There’s so many more doors to open with him, his family as well and his relationships and how he gets over that.

‘I’d love to know what’s in store for Donte, definitely soo yeah, I’d love to return, 100%.’

You can read our full interview with Adam in our exclusive and free weekly soaps newsletter, released every Friday – just sign up here or enter your e-mail address in the box below.

Waterloo Road airs every Tuesday on BBC One at 8pm and all seven episodes are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.

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