Kathy Mitchell

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EastEnders character
Kathy Mitchell
Portrayed by Gillian Taylforth
Created by Tony Holland and Julia Smith
Introduced by Julia Smith (1985)
Matthew Robinson (1999)
Duration 1985–1998, 1999–2000
First appearance 19 February 1985
Last appearance 6 January 2000
Profile
Date of birth 11 March 1950(1950-03-11)
Date of death 20 February 2006 (aged 55)
Status Deceased

Katherine "Kathy" Mitchell (née Hills; previously Beale)[1] was a fictional character in the British soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Gillian Taylforth. Her final surname is unknown, so she is referred to in this article by her last-known name, Kathy Mitchell.

Kathy had a turbulent time in Walford. She was raped twice, married twice and had a plethora of disastrous relationships in between. She eventually left Walford to start a new life in Cape Town. Kathy was killed off-screen in a road accident in late February 2006.

Contents

[edit] Character creation and development

Kathy Beale was one of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith. Kathy was a member of the first family of EastEnders, the Beales and Fowlers, and Holland took the inspiration for some of the series' earliest characters from his own London family and background. Kathy's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story.

"A hard childhood. An overcrowded, strict one - with no money but bags of misery. You either give into that, or you rebel...A lot of people think she's hard. The exterior is certainly tough - it's had to be. From a childhood surrounded by too many brothers, a heavy drinking father, and a submissive mother. A knowledge that you came from the "slum end" of the borough. The tattiest school-uniform. The least money. To be the poorest of the poor was a hell of a thing to fight against...by patience, persistence, cool dignity, the refusal to argue and fight back like a fishwife, wooing, cajoling and setting a good example, she and Pete finally became accepted - even by Lou...a moral woman with a firm sense of right and wrong, and good and bad. She finds it almost impossible to tell a lie, bitch - or accept the goods Pete sometimes brings home that have fallen off the back of lorries. It's as if she's had such a long hard fight to be thought of and accepted as a respectable/decent person, that she's frightened of anything happening that might soil that image. A great sense of humour...She's practical in that she doesn't shatter Pete's dreams even though she knows none of them will ever materialise, because she realises to do so would also shatter him...Kathy never forgets a favour." (page 55–56)[2]

More actresses were interviewed for the role of Kathy than any other original character. Each actress possessed some of the facets of personality wanted, but not a single one had all of them. Holland and Smith wanted Kathy to be attractive, warm, practical, tough, funny and sexy. Gillian Taylforth was an actress that Smith and Holland had encountered during an open evening they had attended at The Anna Scher Theatre in North London. They had been drawn to Taylforth because of her voice — "husky and adenoidal", which seemed at odds with her feminine appearance.[2] They considered her for the role of Sue Osman, but she was dismissed because she was blonde rather than brunette. They briefly considered her for the role of Kathy, but she was again dismissed because she was too young for the role. However during a subsequent, unsuccessful audition for the role of Sue Osman, Holland and Smith asked her back for another audition — this time for the part of Kathy.[3] She was considered perfect, apart from her age, but she managed to charm them and was eventually offered the part.

Kathy as she appeared in 1985.
Kathy as she appeared in 1985.

One of the most notable storylines invoving Kathy was her rape at the hands of the yuppie bar owner James Willmott-Brown, played by William Boyde. The episodes covering the rape were written by Tony McHale and are considered by the writer Colin Brake as "EastEnders at its best". Some 10.8 million viewers tuned in to see Kathy attacked in The Dagmar in July 1988.[4] One of the episodes which covered the rape received a good deal of criticism for showing the police as unsympathetic and unhelpful to a rape victim. The story, however, continued in the next episode, when Kathy reached the police station and received very sympathetic treatment from a male detective and a WPC. Tony McHale had researched the subject in depth with the police and was determined to portray the broad range of ways that the police dealt with the serious subject of rape. A senior woman police officer later congratulated the programme on its even-handed and honest portrayal of the incident.[5]

Kathy was later reunited with James Willmott-Brown in 1992 in a special three-hander episode also featuring Pete. Written by Debbie Cook, this episode allowed Kathy to finally lay to rest the ghost of her rape and convince Pete that their marriage was truly over.

Kathy became one of the longest running characters on the show and Gillian Taylforth was the first cast member to clock up 1,000 episodes.[6] Kathy was arguably one of the more popular female characters and featured in an array of controversial storylines including the birth of a son who contracted meningitis, a tempestuous marriage to her abusive husband Phil Mitchell and finally an affair with her husband's brother Grant. She was eventually written out of the show in 1998 when Gillian Taylforth decided to move on after 13 years playing the role. She returned briefly in the autumn of 1999 to aid the departure of Ross Kemp, the actor who played Grant Mitchell and made her final appearance in January 2000.

After her final departure, numerous rumours circulated in the British press predicting the character's return to the soap. In 2005 it was reported that EastEnders producers were attempting to lure Gillian Taylforth back with the offer of a £200,000 a year pay cheque. Gillian said: "I've always wanted to go back because I love EastEnders — I have great friends in the cast and always enjoyed working with Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell)."[6] However, in January 2006 it was announced that the character was being killed off-screen in a storyline to facilitate the return of her young son Ben to his father Phil Mitchell. Taylforth has commented: "I was a bit upset at first because it was 13 years of my life and I didn't like the thought of being killed off. I thought she might come back to see Ian and have some illness. But that's the way it goes."[7]

Kathy with her first husband, Pete.
Kathy with her first husband, Pete.

[edit] History

Kathy came from an unpleasant background—her father was a violent alcoholic and her mother was terrified of him, and they were extremely poor. Then when she was fourteen, Kathy was raped by music teacher Marcus Duffy, resulting in a pregnancy. Her daughter was given up for adoption.

Later in life she fell for a local boy, Pete Beale, but he married Pat Harris after she claimed to be pregnant with his child. It was only after Pete walked out on Pat that he and Kathy finally got together. In 1968 they married, although there was strong opposition from Pete's mother, Lou, who wouldn't condone her son's divorce. A year later they had their only son together, Ian.

Things were going well financially for the Beales in 1985, when the series began. Pete's fruit and veg stall was successful and Kathy opened her own knitting business, producing jumpers to sell on her own market stall, while also working as a part-time barmaid in The Queen Vic for her best friend, Angie Watts.

Kathy felt she had finally put her past behind her. However, in October 1985 Nick Cotton broke into Dr. Legg's surgery and stole Kathy's medical records, discovering that she had been raped when she was fourteen and the resulting child had been given up for adoption. He used this information to blackmail Kathy, and she was eventually forced to tell Pete the secret she had kept for years. This revelation was hard for Pete to take.

[edit] The arrival of Donna Ludlow

In 1987, Kathy received a visit from her adopted daughter's godmother, who brought news that the girl (Donna Ludlow) wanted to meet her. Kathy refused, however, and told her that she wanted nothing to do with her illegitimate daughter (although she neglected to inform her about the circumstances of Donna's conception). Undeterred, Donna moved to the Square to be near her mother, and for the first year she kept her identity a secret.

In an attempt to get closer to her mother, Donna took to anonymously calling The Samaritans (where Kathy worked) to discuss her fabricated problems. Kathy eventually twigged that it was Donna calling and started to suspect that she was not all that she seemed.

Donna then started making a play for Kathy's son (and her brother), Ian. Ian was smitten, but Kathy was against the relationship progressing and after furiously telling her to keep away from her son, Donna finally blurted out the truth about her parentage. She proceeded to vent her frustration about being rejected to a shocked Kathy, and confessed that she only wanted a mother to love her and to be a part of her life. Donna had thought that Kathy would be pleased to finally meet her, but this couldn't have been further from the truth. She was mortified and ordered Donna to leave the Square, telling her she wanted nothing to do with her.

Although the rejection hurt Donna, she wasn't perturbed, and proceeded to cause as much trouble for Kathy as she possibly could, firstly by persisting in flirting with Ian, forcing Kathy to confess Donna's identity, and secondly by stirring between Kathy and Pete, causing major rows between the two. After it seemed nothing would put Donna off Kathy finally cracked and told her that the reason she wanted nothing to do with her was because she was the product of rape. Donna was unhinged by this news, and spent the rest of the year in a downward spiral. Unable to cope with her mother's rejection she turned to drugs and had soon become addicted to heroin and taken up prostitution.

[edit] Rape and marital breakdown

James rapes Kathy
James rapes Kathy

In 1988, James Willmott-Brown gave Kathy a job as a barmaid at The Dagmar wine bar, which caused a lot of friction between her and her husband, Pete. The rift worsened when it became clear that Wilmott-Brown was romantically interested in Kathy; he bought her presents and confided in her about the breakup of his own marriage and the effect it had on his children, Sophie and Luke. Pete was furious about the amount of time Kathy spent with Willmott-Brown, but his continuous arguing only pushed her closer to him. After Kathy had a blazing argument with Pete one night, Wilmott-Brown invited her back to his place for a glass of wine, but when it became clear that he was attempting to seduce her, Kathy attempted to leave. However, James wouldn't take no for an answer, the situation got out of hand and what began as seduction ended in rape. Den Watts, who had recently given up tenancy at The Vic and had got a job working for the criminal underworld known as "The Firm", discovered Kathy in an emotional state. When he realised what had happened he sought out his contacts within the organization, Joanne Francis and Brad Williams, and demanded retribution. He soon watched with glee as a fire-bomb was thrown into the deserted Dagmar and it exploded into flames. Unfortunately for Den this act would eventually lead to his imprisonment and attempted murder, after The Firm expected him to take the rap for the arson and later decided they wanted him dead.

Upon his arrest, Willmott-Brown countered Kathy's claims by suggesting that she consented to sex, and that it was common knowledge that the two were having an affair. He suggested that Pete was a violent man and that Kathy made up the rape to avoid his wrath. He suggested that the bruises weren't given to her by him, and if they were it was simply in the throes of passion. He thought he had done enough to fool the police, but the smug grin was soon wiped off his face when he was told he was being formally charged with rape.

However Kathy's ordeal was just beginning. In the aftermath of the rape, she became depressed and isolated from her husband — who, to make matters worse, was never convinced that she was entirely blameless in the affair. He tried to make things better by taking her on holiday to Majorca, but even this didn't help; when they returned to the Square, they were more estranged than ever. Pete began drinking heavily to drown his sorrows and after he spent months in a drunken stupor, Kathy finally decided to finish their marriage in January 1989 and moved into a flat on her own.

Willmott-Brown stood trial in April 1989, but not before he'd attempted to bribe Kathy into dropping the charges against him. Kathy lulled him into believing that she was ready to take his hush money, only to betray him straight into the hands of a listening DI. Kathy was forced to relive the rape for the trial. She had to give evidence against her former boss and a skilful barrister presented a good case for him. For a time it looked as if he would be found not guilty, but to Kathy's relief he was found guilty and imprisoned for three years. During this time Kathy found unexpected support in the form of Pete's first wife, Pat Wicks, whom she had initially despised. However the rape combined with the death of Kathy's mother-in-law, Lou Beale, pushed them together as friends (as both found they had a common bond with the dominance of Lou in their lives). Pat and Kathy eventually became each other's closest friend and confidante over the years despite the ominous presence of Cindy Beale (who had affairs with both of Pat's sons whilst married to Kathy's son, Ian).

[edit] Moving on

Kathy found herself unable to accept Donna during this tough period as she only reminded her of the first rape. Donna sank into deep depression and in April 1989 she purposely overdosed on heroin and died after choking on her own vomit. Kathy felt guilty about her daughter's death, although few others mourned her passing.

During 1989, Kathy attempted to move on with her life and she fell for the charms of market trader Laurie Bates, the new fruit and veg man who had opened in direct competition to Pete. Pete still wanted Kathy back, more than ever, but she made it abundantly clear that she had moved on. Laurie seemed to be understanding of Kathy's situation following her rape and accepted that sex was strictly off limits. Their relationship managed to survive the interference of the hairdresser Julie Cooper, who tried and failed to claim Laurie for herself. However when Laurie began buying Kathy extravagant clothing and jewellery she began to question his motives. She believed he was trying to make her look like his deceased wife and she started to lose interest. Laurie took the rejection badly and some tactless comments regarding her sexual abstinence made Kathy believe that he had hidden shallows. She ended the relationship in January 1990 and decided to hang onto her independence instead.

Later in the year, Kathy began dating Walford's new landlord Eddie Royle. He patiently pursued her, sending her flowers and dinner invitations, but after a few dates, she became hesitant and resisted any further advances. However, one night, after she had refused him a date, she had a change of heart and went round to the pub to tell him, only to find him kissing another woman — Eibhlin O'Donnell, who was his former girlfriend visiting from Ireland. She refused to accept his explanation of the events and so their lukewarm romance ended.

In 1991, Kathy went into partnership with Pauline Fowler and Frank Butcher when they bought the Bridge Street café. By 1992, Kathy had bought out Pauline and she renamed the premises Kathy's.

In January 1992, Willmott-Brown was released from prison, intent on moving back to Walford and setting up a business. He sent Kathy a tape telling her that he wanted to meet her at the hotel he was staying at in Hampstead. He promised that if she objected he would disappear and never return.

His return sent shockwaves around the Square and Pete organised a mob to track him down at the same time that Kathy planned to meet him. Kathy got there first and after listening to Willmott-Brown's tale of the hardship he faced in prison and how much he had changed, she pleaded with him to leave the Square for good and never return. But despite his past promise, he would not agree to leave Walford. Kathy felt repulsed and cheated and Pete's bullying tactics couldn't remove James from Walford either. He moved to the Square and continued to pester Kathy. Pete and Kathy eventually went to confront James together at his home. Kathy was finally able to relay her hurt and anger and gain some closure. James threatened to commit suicide by taking an overdose of tranquillizers, but Kathy stopped him, refusing to allow him to get off the hook so easily. After a heated conversation in which James finally pleaded for forgiveness, Kathy convinced him to leave Walford. She also managed to convince Pete — who had been hoping for a reconciliation — that their marriage was well and truly over.

Later in 1992, Kathy was pursued by Walford's new market inspector Richard Cole. When he won a holiday through a raffle at the traders' Christmas ball (to cries of fix) he invited Kathy to go with him. Possibly to spite Pete, who was horrified at the idea, Kathy said yes. However things soured when she discovered that he was taking a monetary bribe and allowing a mobile hot dog van to trade on Bridge Street in direct competition to her café. After they separated Richard upset things further by attempting to seduce Kathy's daughter-in-law, Cindy.

[edit] Life with Phil Mitchell

In the autumn of 1993, whilst on a trip to Paris, Kathy began a romance with the mechanic Phil Mitchell, although their relationship was stalled by the presence of Phil's wife Nadia; a Romanian refugee he had married to enable her to stay in the country. Feeling jealous of her husband's real girlfriend, Nadia made things as difficult as possible for Kathy and Phil, and finally seduced Phil at Christmas and slept with him. Phil didn't help matters by failing to tell Kathy about Nadia in the first place. Phil's brother Grant managed to scare Nadia away and soon after Kathy and Phil began living together. In March that year they began to go through problems when Phil purchased Frank's share of the cafe behind Kathy's back, but when Kathy discovered that Phil was responsible for torching Frank's car-lot and killing a homeless boy, she decided to end the relationship. A depressed Phil then turned to alcohol to drown his sorrows. After one particularly heavy drinking session, he managed to corner Kathy long enough to propose marriage to her - and to his astonishment, she accepted.

Kathy and Phil marry.
Kathy and Phil marry.

However on the night of their engagement party, Kathy learned of Phil's affair with Sharon Mitchell (his brother Grant's wife) some years previous (although this occurred before Kathy started a relationship with Phil, Kathy was still disgusted with the pair because Sharon had tried to rekindle their romance days after discovering his engagement to her). Kathy slapped Sharon and called her a slut, while Grant severely beat Phil leaving him critically ill in hospital (see Sharongate for more details).

The following year Phil and Kathy managed to sort out their differences and finally got married. By the end of the year Kathy had found herself pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy, Ben, in 1996; he later contracted meningitis and was left with impaired hearing. Kathy became devoted to her son and much of her time was taken up caring for him. Phil began to feel neglected and jealous and in his depression he turned to alcohol. By the end of the year his drinking had developed into full-blown alcoholism and Phil and Kathy began arguing regularly, becoming more violent and increasingly stormy as Phil continued to drink. After he snatched Ben and then foolishly left him near a fire while he passed out drunk, Kathy left him. Realising what he'd lost, Phil then made an attempt to stop drinking and rebuild his marriage. Kathy took him back for a while, but it didn't last. When Phil attended counselling in the summer he began an affair with a fellow alcoholic named Lorna Cartwright, who then started stalking him and soon made herself known to Kathy. In August, with their relationship in jeopardy, Phil and Kathy joined Grant and his wife Tiffany on their Paris trip with the hope that it would bring them closer. However, their return to the city where their relationship began several years earlier was not a success. Phil confessed his affair with Lorna, after which Kathy responded by pulling off her wedding ring and throwing it into the Seine, stating that their marriage was the biggest mistake of her life.

Upon their return to Walford, Phil began sleeping rough and blaming Kathy for his decline, even suggesting that she was responsible for being raped by Willmott-Brown. Kathy contemplated suicide, but hardened her heart against her abusive husband and by the end of 1997 she had fallen for the charms of Walford's new vicar Alex Healy, with whom she shared a Christmas kiss.

In 1998, Alex's Bishop discovered his affair and offered Alex a choice: Kathy or his job. Alex was prepared to give up his job to start a new life with Kathy, but Kathy was hesitant. Meanwhile Kathy began to grow very close to Phil's brother Grant, and admitted that she had married the wrong brother, leading to Grant confessing his undying love for her and offering to start a life together. To top it off Phil was still desperate to get Kathy back to rebuild their marriage. Confused by so many options, in April 1998 Kathy decided that she and Ben move to Cape Town, South Africa to be near her brother Ted.

[edit] Later life

Kathy kisses Grant, her husband's brother.
Kathy kisses Grant, her husband's brother.

Kathy returned in September 1999 to meet Ian's fiancée Melanie Healy, and it seemed that there might be a possible reconciliation for her and Phil. Instead of making up with her ex-husband, she picked up where she left off with Grant and they had a fling. Just before she was due to return home to South Africa, Kathy had a change of heart and asked Phil to leave with her. However, Grant had planned a robbery that same day and Phil could not bring himself to let his brother perform the job without his assistance. Kathy became infuriated with Phil's loyalty to Grant and so she decided to reveal their recent affair moments before she left the country. This led to a dramatic showdown between the Mitchell brothers when Phil confronted his brother about what his ex-wife had told him, and this led to Grant's revelation that he only did it in revenge for Phil sleeping with Sharon years earlier. Phil was devastated that he had lost his chance to be with his son Ben and pulled a gun on Grant, who was saved by the sound of police sirens and forced Phil to get inside a car and escape. While in a getaway car Phil was still upset over losing Ben again and ended up shooting at the steering wheel causing Grant to crash the car into the River Thames. Phil was saved but Grant was nowhere to be seen, however he fled to Rio de Janeiro a week later with daughter Courtney.

Kathy returned in December that year for Ian's short-lived wedding to Melanie Healy on Millennium Eve, where she was met with extreme hostility from Phil and Grant's mother, Peggy. Phil tried to persuade Kathy to reconcile one last time, but eventually they both agreed that their relationship was definitely over. Kathy then departed. Her last appearance was in January 2000. Since then Kathy married a man named Gavin in South Africa in 2001, who adopted her son Ben.

On 20 February 2006, Gavin's sister called Ian's partner, Jane Collins, to say that Gavin and Kathy had been in an accident involving a 13-year-old boy who was joyriding and crashed into the pair's car. Gavin was in critical condition in hospital but Kathy had been killed outright (since the other vehicle smashed straight into the passenger side, where she was seated). A heartbroken Ian travelled to South Africa to sort things out and came home with Ben after Gavin died. Ben now resides with his father Phil, and his grandmother Peggy.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "13-JAN-94", walford.net. URL last accessed 2007-02-07
  2. ^ a b Smith, Julia; Holland, Tony (1987). EastEnders - The Inside Story. Book Club Associates. ISBN 0-563-20601-2. 
  3. ^ "Gillian Taylforth interview", Walford Gazette. URL last accessed on 2006-10-16.
  4. ^ "Kathy attacked in the Dagmar", BBC.co.uk. URL last accessed on 2006-10-16.
  5. ^ Brake, Colin (1995). EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-37057-2. 
  6. ^ a b "Kaffy Come Home", Sunday Mirror. URL last accessed on 2006-10-16.
  7. ^ "Gillian Taylforth: I still feel like I'm 30", The Mirror. URL last accessed on 2006-10-16.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The Hills family in EastEnders
v • d • e
The Mitchell family in EastEnders
v • d • e
The Beale family in EastEnders
v • d • e
EastEnders original characters