Charlie has a penchant for housework (8)
I believe the answer is:
cleaning
'for housework' is the definition.
(cleaning up a house)
'charlie has a penchant' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'charlie' could be 'c' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.) and 'c' is present in the answer.
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cleaning that I've seen before include "Removing dirt" , "sponging, perhaps?" , "Freeing from dirt" , "Sanitising" , "housework?" .)