Charles worked for London Weekend Television for a decade from 1978. He was a producer for the Free Nelson Mandela Concert in 1988. He was a founding partner, Executive Producer and Managing Director of Tiger Aspect Productions between 1988 and 2010. He became Chair of Trustees of EPI in January 2025.
Charles chaired the Edinburgh International TV Festival in 2002 and was a member of its advisory committee for a further 7 years. In 2005 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Television Society for services to television.
Programmes produced or executive produced include: Pinochet’s Progress (BBC/HBO); Billy Elliot (Tiger Aspect Pictures); The Monastery series and The Islamic Retreat (BBC2); and Boris Johnson and the Dream of Rome (BBC 2).
Charles was for 5 years on the advisory committee for YCTV, a charity targeting young and underprivileged Londoners trying to get into television. In 2012 -2013 Charles was a Director of the Listen Media Company, a social media company. Charles became a trustee in 2010.