Kathy Barnes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kathy Barnes (born 21 September 1966/1973) is a fictional character in long-running Channel 4 British television soap opera Hollyoaks. She is played by actress Sarah Jane Buckley.

[edit] Character History

In her youth, Kathy was an accomplished swimmer but was forced to abandon her swimming career after falling pregnant at the age of 16 (there is another version of this story where she says she was 19 when she fell pregnant). Consequently, when her own daughter Sarah took up swimming, Kathy became obessessed with her daughter’s success, starving her of a social life in the process. When Sarah sought a relationship with Rhys Ashworth, Kathy became convinced that the relationship would thwart her prospects. Ever cold and calculating, she therefore seduced Rhys and blackmailed him into ending the relationship.

For reasons that are unclear Kathy gained seven years in the space of a year (see Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome). At her 40th birthday party, Gilly accidentally blew the lid on her dalliance with Rhys in front of several stunned guests, including husband Mike, who threw her out of the house. Unable to find alternative accommodation she returned to the family home. She went through a brief period of remorse, then reverted to her old ways, acting like nothing had happened, and continually blaming the family problems on everyone else. Mike was desperately unhappy and moved into the Owen's old flat. Sarah couldn't stand living with her mother, and moved in with Mike, despite Amy begging her not to go. Amy eventually followed suit. After a while, Kathy and Mike decided to give their marriage another try for the sake of their children, but they are far from blissful.

Kathy Barnes hadn't been onscreen since Amy's joyriding accident and the following court appearance but made a recent appearance when Amy was in labour. She is pretending that her granddaughter Leah is actually her own daughter, for the sake of preserving the family's reputation.