| Kathy Mitchell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Gillian Taylforth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Julia Smith and Tony Holland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Julia Smith (1985) Matthew Robinson (1999) |
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| Duration | 1985–2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 19 February 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 6 January 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances | Dimensions in Time (1993) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 11 May 1950 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 20 February 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Market trader (clothing) (1985–91) Barmaid (1985–89) Businesswoman (1985–98) |
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Katherine "Kathy" Mitchell (née Hills; previously Beale)[1] is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gillian Taylforth between 1985 and 2000. Though it was never used on screen, in 2010 the BBC website named the character as Kathy Sullivan due to a marriage after she left the show in 2000.[2]
Kathy Beale was one of the serial's original characters, appearing in the first episode of EastEnders on 19 February 1985. One of the longest-running original characters, Kathy remained in a prominent role, covering issues such as rape and domestic violence until April 1998, when Taylforth quit. A year later, in 1999, Taylforth returned for a temporary stint to aid the departure of actor Ross Kemp who played her brother-in-law Grant Mitchell, and later in December 1999 for the wedding of her screen son Ian Beale. She made her final appearance in January 2000.
Despite various rumours of a possible return for Kathy in the press, this did not occur and the character was killed off-screen in a road accident in late February 2006 in a storyline to facilitate the return of her son Ben to his father Phil. In tribute to the character, the soap's café is named "Kathy's" until 2011.[3]
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Kathy was born into a destitute, East End family, headed by an abusive and alcoholic father. Aged 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 she was pregnant with his child. It was only after Pete left Pat that he and Kathy got together. They married in 1968, despite strong opposition from Pete's mother, Lou who wouldn't condone her son's divorce. A year later, they had their son, Ian.
The Beales were financially stable in 1985. Kathy opened her own knitting business, making jumpers to sell and working as a barmaid in The Queen Vic for her best friend, Angie Watts. Kathy felt she had put her troubled 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 and had given the resulting child up for adoption. He used this to blackmail Kathy and she was eventually forced to tell Pete her secret, a revelation that he took badly.
In 1987, Kathy received news that her adopted daughter, Donna Ludlow, wanted to meet her, but she refused. Undeterred, Donna moved to Walford and kept her identity secret. To get closer to Kathy, Donna called her workplace at The Samaritans, and grew close to Ian, who became attracted to his half sister. When Kathy told Donna to stay away from Ian, Donna told her that she was her daughter. She thought Kathy would be pleased but Kathy was mortified and ordered her to leave Walford. Unperturbed, Donna stayed and caused various problems for Kathy until she finally cracked and told Donna that she wanted nothing to do with her as she was the product of rape. Unhinged, Donna spent the rest of the year in a downward spiral.
In 1988, James Willmott-Brown employed Kathy at The Dagmar wine bar, which angered Pete. The rift worsened when it became clear that James was romantically interested in Kathy. After Kathy and Pete argued one night, James invited her to his flat, but when he attempted to seduce her, Kathy tried to leave. James would not take no for an answer and what began as seduction ended in rape. James was arrested, and despite claiming that the sex had been consensual, was formally charged with rape. In the aftermath, Kathy became depressed and isolated from Pete, who never believed she was blameless. Kathy ended their marriage in January 1989.
James stood trial in April 1989 but not before he'd tried to bribe Kathy to drop the charges. Kathy pretended to take his hush money, then betrayed him to a listening DI. She was forced to relive the rape for the trial, where a skilful barrister presented a good case for James. For a time, it appeared that James would be found not guilty, but to Kathy's relief, he was imprisoned for three years. During this time, Kathy found unexpected support from Pete's first wife, Pat Wicks, whom she had initially despised. The rape by Willmott-Brown, and later the death of Kathy's mother-in-law Lou, brought them closer as both found they had a common bond with the dominance of Lou in their lives. Pat and Kathy became each other's closest friends. Kathy still found herself unable to accept Donna as she reminded her of rape. Donna sank into depression and in April 1989, she overdosed on heroin and died after choking on her own vomit. Kathy felt guilty about her daughter's death.
During 1989, Kathy attempted to move on and fell for market trader Laurie Bates. Laurie was understanding of Kathy's situation and accepted that sex was off limits. Their relationship managed to survive the interference of Julie Cooper, who tried but failed to claim Laurie herself. However, when Laurie began buying Kathy extravagant clothing and jewellery, she began questioning his motives. She thought he was trying to make her look like his late wife and lost interest. Laurie took her rejection badly and some tactless comments regarding her sexual abstinence made Kathy believe he had hidden shallows. She ended the relationship in January 1990. Later in the year, Kathy began dating Eddie Royle. He patiently pursued her, but after a few dates, she became hesitant and after she saw him kissing Eibhlin O'Donnell - his former girlfriend visiting from Ireland - their lukewarm romance ended.
Kathy bought the Bridge Street café in 1991, renaming the premises "Kathy's" in 1992. In January 1992, Willmott-Brown was released from prison. He sent Kathy a tape telling her that he wanted to meet her and that he had changed. Kathy pleaded with him to leave and never return, but he moved to the Square and continued to pester her, until Kathy relayed the hurt and anger he had caused her, gaining some closure. James threatened suicide, but Kathy stopped him, refusing to let him take the easy way out. After a heated conversation in which James pleaded for forgiveness, Kathy convinced him to leave Walford. She also convinced Pete — who had been hoping for a reconciliation — that their marriage was over. Later in 1992, Kathy began a relationship with market inspector Richard Cole, which soured when she discovered that he was taking a cash bribe and allowing a mobile hot dog van to trade in direct competition to her café.
In 1993, Kathy began a romance with the mechanic Phil Mitchell in Paris, which managed to survive interference from Phil's wife Nadia, who tried to spilt them up, as well as various revelations about Phil's past criminal activity. During a break-up, Phil got drunk and proposed to Kathy, and she accepted, however during their engagement party, Kathy learnt that Phil had almost resumed his affair with his sister-in-law Sharon Mitchell, a revelation that ended Kathy's friendship with Sharon and lead to Phil being beaten by his brother Grant, and almost ended Kathy and Phil's relationship.
However, in 1995 Phil and Kathy sorted out their differences and got married. Kathy fell pregnant and gave birth to a boy, Ben, in 1996; he later contracted meningitis and was left with impaired hearing. Kathy became devoted to Ben. Phil began to feel neglected and, in his depression, he turned to alcohol. By the end of the year his drinking had developed into full-blown alcoholism. Phil become violent and argumentative towards Kathy. After he snatched Ben and left him near a fire while he passed out drunk, Kathy left him. Realising what he had lost, Phil tried to stop drinking and rebuild his marriage. Kathy took him back, but when Phil attended counselling in 1997, he began an affair with an alcoholic named Lorna Cartwright, who started stalking him and made herself known to Kathy. In August 1997, Phil took Kathy to Paris, hoping that it would bring them closer. However, their return to the city where their relationship began was not a success. Phil confessed to his affair with Lorna, and Kathy responded by throwing her wedding ring in the Seine, stating that their marriage was "the biggest mistake" of her life. Phil began sleeping rough and blaming Kathy for his decline. Despite momentarily contemplating suicide, Kathy hardened herself towards her husband's abuse.
By Christmas 1997, she had fallen for vicar Alex Healy. In 1998, Alex's Bishop discovered their affair and offered Alex a choice: Kathy or his job. Alex was prepared to give up his job to be with Kathy, but she had already decided to move to Cape Town, South Africa, to live with her brother Ted. Meanwhile, Phil's brother Grant confessed to loving Kathy and asked her to elope, while Phil, simultaneously, was trying to reunite with her. Kathy was confused by so many options, but made it known to Phil that she was open to a reunion; however, when he failed to show up to meet her on the day of her departure in April 1998, Kathy left Walford with Ben.
Kathy returned in September 1999 to meet Ian's fiancée Melanie Healy. Instead of reuniting with Phil, she had a fling with Grant. 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 do the job alone. Infuriated by Phil's loyalty to Grant, Kathy revealed their recent affair, moments before she left. This resulted in a violent showdown between the brothers. Grant confessed that he only slept with Kathy as revenge for Phil's affair with his wife Sharon, and Phil responded by threatening to shoot Grant, devastated that he'd lost Ben and Kathy again, leading Grant to crash their car into the River Thames; both survived. Kathy returned in December 1999 for Ian's short-lived wedding to Melanie on Millennium Eve, after Mel reveals to Ian that she slept with Steve Owen. Kathy was met with 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.
Kathy married a man named Gavin Sullivan in South Africa in 2001, who adopted Ben. On 20 February 2006, Gavin's sister called Ian to say that Gavin and Kathy had been in an accident - a 13-year-old boy who was joyriding, crashed into their car, killing Kathy. A heartbroken Ian travelled to South Africa and returned with Ben after Gavin also died. Custody of Ben was eventually given to Phil.
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. 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.
Holland and Smith wanted Kathy to be attractive, warm, practical, tough, funny and sexy.[4] 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.[4]
Gillian Taylforth was an actress that Smith and Holland had encountered during an open evening they had attended at The Anna Scher Theatre in Islington, North London. They had been drawn to Taylforth because of her voice — "husky and adenoidal", which seemed at odds with her feminine appearance, which they described as "stunningly attractive".[4] During the open evening, they considered Taylforth 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.[4] They instead decided "to bear her in mind for the future".[4]
Despite this, during the casting period in 1984, Taylforth auditioned for the role of Sue Osman. She was unsuccessful and that part went to Sandy Ratcliff, however, Holland and Smith asked her back to audition for another role, the part of Kathy.[5] Smith and Holland have commented that "she came into the room, bringing the whole of the 'East-end' in with her [...] In exactly half a minute she'd charmed the pants off them". She was considered perfect, apart from her age. Smith and Holland have commented in their book Inside Story that "[Taylforth] was too young! They had said so from the beginning. By rights, they should not even be interviewing her. But wasn't she perfect, apart from her age? So different from any other 'Kathy' they had seen. Fresher. More down to earth. Ages were discussed and a pocket-calculator produced. If Pete Beale had been her first boyfriend, wasn't it just possible that she could have a fourteen-year-old son? Julia and Tony were trying to talk themselves into it."[4] Taylforth has commented on the audition process, "[Holland and Smith] whipped out a calculator and kept punching in numbers. 'We're trying to work out if you could be old enough to be Ian's Mum,' they said. I said, 'I can look older. I'll put my hair up. I'll have a few late nights and I promise I'll look old enough to be Ian's Mum'."[5] According to Holland and Smith, Gillian Taylforth's "freshness and earthy charm" won them around and she was offered the part of Kathy.[4]
Author Christine Geraghty has described Kathy as a character that could "be trusted by the audience to divine what is right and to hold firmly to that position".[6] Described as a woman who naturally worked on behalf of the community, other characters frequently turned to Kathy for advice or support, and this was explored on-screen to greater effect in the 1980s when, as a result of the hardship she had faced in her youth, Kathy volunteered with the charity group The Samaritans.[7] It has been noted that "as a result of becoming a counsellor for The Samaritans Kathy Beale 'in turn [...] increasingly [came] to adopt the role of expert advisor".[8]
Hilary Kingsley, author of The EastEnders Handbook, described Kathy in 1991 as "an attractive, bright, caring and highly moral woman, vulnerable but tough in some ways, streetwise, amusing, even witty [...] What she thinks is what she says.".[9] She adds that she is "Blonde, good-looking, intelligent and industrious, on the surface Kathy's a very together lady. Underneath, though, things are very different."[9] Kathy has been classified by Rupert Smith, author of EastEnders: 20 years in Albert Square, as a "drama queen", a "strong passionate [woman] who [goes] to pieces where men are concerned and always [comes] back for more".[10] He continued, "One woman above all others has taken it on the chin in EastEnders, and that's Kathy."[10] Author Kate Lock has noted that by the time of Kathy's last appearance, she had "acquired near-goddess status".[11]
One of the most notable storylines involving Kathy was her rape by yuppie bar owner James Willmott-Brown, played by William Boyde.[12] It was the second time that the character had supposedly been raped, as Kathy's backstory had revealed that she had been raped at the age of fourteen, resulting in a pregnancy — Kathy gave her baby daughter away for adoption, although these events were not seen on-screen, as Kathy was already in her 30s when the serial began. Taylforth has revealed that she was apprehensive about the storyline when it was originally pitched. She has commented to the Walford Gazette, "I didn't think it was a great idea at first. That Kathy was being raped for the second time in her life bothered me. And second, I didn't think Wilmott-Brown was a very likely rapist. I loved working with William Boyd, and I thought he played it brilliantly. It was his idea to step up Wilmott-Brown's drinking in order for the rape to make some sense."[5]
The storyline was set up during 1988, as Kathy found employment at James's wine bar, "The Dagmar", causing friction between Kathy and her husband Pete who "didn't like the pub, the clientele or the clothes Kathy felt she had to wear to look good for work".[13] As James struggled with various personal and business issues simultaneously, he began to show an attraction to Kathy, leading to the storyline's eventual climax, Kathy's rape. Writer Colin Brake has commented that "all the pieces [were] in place [...] Pete was away [...] Willmott-Brown asked Kathy to stay after work for a drink. The situation got out of hand and what began as seduction ended in rape."[13] The episodes covering the rape were written by Tony McHale and are considered by the writer Colin Brake as "EastEnders at its best". Some 19 million viewers tuned in to see Kathy attacked in The Dagmar wine bar's upstairs flat, in July 1988, reportedly 2 million more than the average viewership at the time.[14]
One of the episodes covering the rape received criticism for showing the police as unsympathetic and unhelpful to a rape victim.[13] Metropolitan Plice Commissioner, Sir Peter Imbert, said a scene in which Kathy was questioned following her rape was "out of date and would do nothing to encourage reporting this despicable crime".[15] 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.[13]
The storyline has generally been received well by critics. The Guardian newspaper described the storyline as "a slow-burn as the tension rose over weeks and months [...] which culminated in rape and then followed Kathy sensitively through the aftermath."[16] This included the consequences for Willmott-Brown; the BBC maintains that with their rape storylines, "the consequences of the crime are always explored, both for the attacker and the victim."[17] While in March 2008, Gareth McLean of The Guardian used Kathy Beale's rape as one of only two instances of a drama series that dealt with the subject "remotely realistically", the other being Sheila Grant's (Sue Johnston) rape in Channel 4's Brookside.[18] However, one prominent critic of the storyline was television campaigner Mary Whitehouse. Following the airing of the rape episode in 1988, Whitehouse branded it "totally unsuitable for family viewing". She wrote to the then Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, to try to stop the episode being repeated in the soap's weekly Sunday omnibus, suggesting that it violated the BBC's own code of practice.[19]
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.[13] Colin Brake has said that "it also gave Gillian Taylforth a terrific acting challenge".[13] In the on-screen events, Kathy was shown to leave the serial for five months to stay with her brother and recover from the trauma of seeing James again; however, in reality, actress Gillian Taylforth had to be written out of the serial to go on maternity leave.[13]
In 1993, Kathy was romantically paired with the character Phil Mitchell, played by Steve McFadden. Writer Colin Brake has revealed that this liaison had first been suggested by the EastEnders' script department three years prior, in 1990, but the idea had been rejected in favour of Kathy getting involved with pub landlord Eddie Royle (Michael Melia).[13]
Despite various obstacles, including objection from Kathy's son Ian (Adam Woodyatt), and the public unveiling of Phil's prior affair with his sister-in-law Sharon (Letitia Dean), Phil and Kathy married in 1995 and a baby was written into their narratives the following year; Kathy becoming a mother again for the second time at the age of 46.[20] The storyline was used to spread a public message, when Kathy's baby son Ben contracted a rare form of meningitis, leaving him with impaired hearing and the threat of brain damage. Kathy was shown to "irrationally" blame herself for her son's condition. In 1996, Gillian Taylforth summarised her character's fears: "[Ben]'s not been very well since he was born and Kathy hasn't wanted to leave him for a minute." Ian McKee, journalist for the Daily Record added that "Ben fell ill when his mum was out for the evening. Irrationally, Kathy blames herself - but she won't trust him with anyone else"[20] and according to Dr Richard Lansdown of London University's Institute of Child Health, "Such extreme anxiety is only natural [...] This constant checking is very, very common when children are seriously ill."[20] Kathy's concern for Ben was shown to have a negative effect on her relationship with Phil, leading into the start of the couple's most notable storyline, Phil's descent into alcoholism and the consequences the condition has upon the sufferer's domestic life.
The relationship between alcohol abuse and domestic violence was explored between Phil and Kathy culminating in the slow deterioration of their marriage, which the BBC claims "gripped viewers" throughout 1997.[21] It has been noted that EastEnders were attempting to spread the message that abusive relationships are transmitted from one generation to the next within this storyline.[22] Phil is eventually shown to blame "his destructiveness on a response to self-hate: violence [...] the basis of his problem: his father had beaten him as a kid and he fears that he will do the same to his son."[23]
In November 1997, the press revealed that after 13 years playing Kathy, Gillian Taylforth had opted not to renew her contract when it expired in March 1998. Taylforth commented, "I love EastEnders, it's in my blood. But after 12 years I want a bit of a change. I want to spend more time with my family and consider other offers. It was an extremely difficult decision to make but I felt this was the best time to go. I've had alternative job offers in the past, but I've always stuck with EastEnders. It's been brilliant for me and I will miss it hugely."[24] At the time, a BBC spokesperson would not confirm the departure saying, "Gilly is in discussions about taking a possible break. It is the policy that long-serving, valued, senior cast members are eligible for such breaks."[24] However, her departure was later confirmed, with Taylforth saying that she made the decision to quit after she missed her daughter's sports day due to filming commitments on set.[25] Barbara Windsor, who plays Kathy's mother-in-law Peggy Mitchell, said: "This is really sad. Gill is a wonderful actress and a very good friend."[24] Steve McFadden, who plays Kathy's estranged husband Phil Mitchell, said: "I can't believe it. I've been with her all day and she never said a thing."[24]
The character's exit storyline revolved around her broken marriage to Phil, a prominent storyline that had been heavily featured throughout 1997. After deciding to leave Walford with her son Ben for South Africa, Kathy found herself the object of desire from several Walford residents, all keen for her to stay and form a relationship. One of the men was Grant Mitchell, her husband Phil's brother, who Kathy shared a kiss with.[26] Despite indicating to Phil that she was prepared to give their relationship one last try, he failed to rendezvous with her in time, and although he made it to the airport, he was persuaded to let her go by Ian. Kathy was shown to depart the serial on an aeroplane after a "poignant scene" showing her embracing her son Ian.[27] The episodes marking Kathy's exit were screened in a one hour special on Good Friday 10 April 1998. The episodes were also notable for being the last appearance of Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins).[28] Despite the high-profile exits, the episodes were beaten in the ratings by rival soap Coronation Street, which garnered 14 million viewers.[29] It had been reported that EastEnders' producers had been hoping to topple the ratings success of Coronation Street's popular "Free Deirdre" storyline, the jailing of the Street's Deirdre Rachid for a crime she didn't commit.[30]
When Taylforth quit, she originally suggested that she was only taking a 6 months break and would return in October 1998;[31] however, this did not occur. It was reported in the press in August 1998, that only several months after her departure, EastEnders producers attempted to woo Gillian Taylforth back for a "week-long saga" to do a "Who's the baby?" storyline, with Phil, Grant and Alex Healy all possible candidates for the father of Kathy's baby. Taylforth reportedly declined the offer in order to take other roles.[32]
However, it was announced in January 1999 that Taylforth had agreed to reprise the role of Kathy for a temporary stint in the autumn of that year, to aid the departure of Ross Kemp, the actor who played Grant Mitchell. Commenting on her return, Taylforth said, "I owe it to Kathy to tie up a few loose ends". EastEnders' producers were said to be "delighted" by her decision.[33] After 18 months away in South Africa, Kathy made a "high-profile" reappearance on EastEnders in September 1999.[34] The character's return storyline concentrated upon a sexual liaison with Phil's brother, Grant, leading to a showdown between the brothers when Phil discovered - events facilitating Grant's exit. Kathy made one brief last return in December 1999 for the wedding of her son Ian and made her final appearance in January 2000.
In a 2000 interview with the Sunday Mirror Taylforth comented further on her decision to leave the serial: "I left EastEnders because after 13 years I felt I really needed a break. I wanted to do other things and I knew I wasn't getting any younger. But throughout everything that has happened in my life I have had tremendous support from the people in EastEnders. I love them so dearly. I still keep in touch with some of them, and my line when I left the show was, 'I won't say goodbye, just au revoir', and that is how I feel. It is nice that they have left the door open for Kathy to return."[35]
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)."[36] 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."[37]
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.[36] In the book Cultural Theory and Popular Culture, Christine Geraghty has likened Kathy to the characters Deirdre Barlow from Coronation Street, Pam Ewing from Dallas and Krystle Carrington from Dynasty as they are associated "not merely with moral values but also the capacity to speak out when necessary in defence of the truth."[6]
In a "character decoding" study performed in the 1980s, 93 viewers (64 women and 29 men) were surveyed (27 were undergraduate students, 33 were from the Oxford subject panel, and 33 were soap viewers who responded to advertisements in a soap magazine) on 25 characters from EastEnders to discover viewers' judgements and representations of the characters, through the construction of three-dimensional, multi-dimensional scaling space. The study found that the character of Kathy Beale was labelled in the "morality/potency" category - a moral character, family-oriented, warm, likable and steady.[38]
In the book Come on Down?: Popular Media Culture in Post-war Britain, Kathryn and Phillip Dodd have used Kathy as an example of an independent, "glamorous working-class woman". They suggest that the forging of strong, female working-class characters in soap operas is "a counterweight to the more usual celebration of masculine physicality and identification of the working class with that masculinity."[39]
During a period of ratings decline and heavy media criticism aimed at EastEnders in 2005, Rupert Smith, The Guardian TV critic and author of EastEnders: 20 years in Albert Square, stated that Kathy was one of EastEnders' best characters, the type the show was lacking at the time. He described her, along with characters Angie Watts, Tiffany Mitchell, Bianca Jackson, Janine Evans and Cindy Beale, as "strong women who can't control their appetites".[16]
Writer and actress Jacquetta May, who played Rachel Kominski in EastEnders in the early 1990s, has commented on Kathy and questioned whether the events that happened in her fictional life reflected "any sort of true experience". In an article she comments, "Surely no woman's life could contain such a catalogue of disasters: slum childhood, two rapes, a drug-taking daughter, product of the first rape who tops herself, a broken marriage, disastrous affairs and now an alcoholic husband who endangered their son's life." She states that Kathy's biography is a "contrast between a realistic portrayal" of a woman and familiar stereotypes — Kathy "the good, long-suffering woman and victim".[23]
In a study by the Stirling Media Research Institute about violence in the media, Phil and Kathy's abusive relationship was analysed.[22] The explanation for Phil's alcoholism, his wife abuse, and the problems he has in relating to his son, was largely accepted as plausible.[22] Women found the depiction of family life and domestic violence realistic and believable and felt that soap operas such as EastEnders should deal with important social issues. They judged soap operas as suitable locations for educating the public about social issues such as domestic violence. Phil's attendance at an AA and subsequent reconciliation with Kathy was viewed, leading some male participants to question the plausibility of the speedy reunion, "One session could hardly make Phil capable of going home and opening up his feelings to [Kathy]." Several focus groups attributed the need for "such a quick dramatic fix" as indicative of the ratings war with rival soap, Coronation Street. Phil's reconciliation with Kathy was also seen as "implausible", though at the same time "it was clearly accepted that according to the conventions of soap opera, there are no permanent solutions."[22] The study reported that much group discussion centred on the Alcoholics Anonymous group scene, which was, for the most part, seen as an accurate depiction of an AA group therapy session. In addition, Phil's portrayal of a suffering alcoholic was also seen as realistic and a "typical portrayal of bottled-up masculinity".[22] Comparatively, male participants were generally dismissive towards Kathy: "She attracted little sympathy or understanding. Her tendency to take some responsibility for her own plight was not countered. Her tale of being abused by men and her history of rapes were at best mentioned in passing, at worst treated disparagingly. There was a quite widely shared sense of how men and women are characterised as radically different in EastEnders and other soap operas..." A scene in which Kathy and her close friend Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) show their competence as electricians, a scene that allowed the characters to "re-examine past mistakes and agree that life is hell, but you've got to keep struggling, mend the electrics ('wait for a man to do a job and you'll wait forever') and have a laugh" was felt, especially in middle-class male groups, "to be a superficial kind of feminism in line with how soap operas underscore gender differences."[22][23] Gay men offered a major exception to this general indifference to Kathy's points of view; they readily espoused them.[22]
During the Children In Need charity appeal of 1993, the BBC produced a special two-part edition of the popular science-fiction television programme Doctor Who, entitled Dimensions in Time. Part of the special was shot on the EastEnders set of Albert Square in Elstree. A scene from the programme, which was set in the future, showed a grey-haired Kathy Beale selling fruit and veg from Mark Fowler's stall with produce all priced with barcodes. Kathy, along with an elderly version of Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard), featured in promotional pictures with the Third Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee, and the Children in Need mascot, Pudsey Bear.[13]
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