Kathy Barnes

Last updated

Kathy Barnes
Hollyoaks character
Kathy Barnes.jpg
Sarah Jane Buckley as Kathy Barnes (2007)
Portrayed by Sarah Jane Buckley
Duration2005–2008, 2017
First appearance6 October 2005
Last appearance8 September 2017
Classification Former; regular
Introduced by David Hanson (2005)
Bryan Kirkwood (2017)
In-universe information
Occupation Physical education teacher
Husband Mike Barnes (until 2008)
Daughters Sarah Barnes
Amy Barnes
Grandsons Lucas Hay
Granddaughters Leah Barnes

Kathy Barnes is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks , played by Sarah Jane Buckley. Kathy arrived in October 2005. In October 2007, it was announced that Kathy had been written out of the serial and would leave in January 2008. [1] She returned briefly on 24 April 2017 for the funeral of her daughter Amy Barnes (Ashley Slanina-Davies) and departed the following day on 25 April 2017. [2] Kathy returned on 4 September 2017 for Ste Hay's (Kieron Richardson) week-long trial. After being found not guilty on 8 September 2017, Ste was shot by Kathy, following which Kathy is taken into police custody and makes a permanent exit.

Contents

Character creation

Actress Sarah Jane Buckley auditioned for the role of Kathy, and went on to secure the role. Buckley was originally signed to an eighteen-month contract, but stayed on after. [3] In 2007, however, it was announced that the character would leave after only two years. [1] Speaking entertainment and media website Digital Spy about Buckley's impending departure, series producer Bryan Kirkwood said: "Sarah Jane Buckley will also be leaving the show in the coming months. There's a lot happening in with the Barmy Barnes and it's really exciting to give them ever-increasing bonkers storylines. So Kathy will be leaving in a bit of a bonkers story at the beginning of next year, too." [1] A Channel 4 spokesperson added: "Kathy's departure knocks Mike for six, but it's not long before he strikes up a relationship with one of the younger birds in the village." [1]

In 2009, Buckley admitted she would like to see her character return. [4] Speaking to Holy Soap, Buckley explained: "I suggested, and I haven't heard anything back yet, that I should come back, demand to have the babies from Amy and have a young toyboy, which would throw Mike Barnes into a right tizz. I think it would be an amazing storyline for her to come back and cause loads of trouble in the village with this younger man." She continued: "I wish they'd bring [Kathy] back. I had so much more to go with her. I was sad to leave. I didn't want to leave at all. I loved doing the show." [4] [5] When asked whether she thought viewers would be happy to see the character, Buckley said: "I always thought they'd say, 'We're glad you're gone'. But people say they wish she was there because she was that kind of antagonistic element you need sometimes in a soap. Get the campaign going! Get Kathy back. I'd go back tomorrow." [4] [5]

Storylines

Backstory

Kathy met Mike Barnes (Tony Hirst) at a young age and fell in love. Kathy discovered she was pregnant with Sarah (Loui Batley). She and Mike pondered whether to put Sarah up for adoption, but decided to keep her. The pair then married. Kathy was born in 1973; however, in 2006, she celebrated her 40th birthday. This was due to SORAS.

2005–2008

Kathy is introduced shortly after her daughter, Sarah. Kathy is strictly training Sarah for numerous swimming contests and a future career in the sport. Sarah feels suffocated by Kathy's pressure and finds support in the form of boyfriend Rhys Ashworth (Andrew Moss). Mike and their youngest daughter Amy (Ashley Slanina-Davies) then arrive. Kathy sees Rhys as a threat to her hope of Sarah becoming a swimmer. Kathy then sleeps with Rhys and blackmails him into breaking up with her. During a massive row over Sarah and Rhys getting back together at Mike and Kathy's anniversary party, Gilly Roach (Anthony Quinlan) inadvertently shouts out that Rhys and Kathy slept together, in front of Sarah, Amy and Mike. Sarah is hurt and disgusted with Rhys and Kathy, while Amy is left shocked and distressed by the revelation. Mike is furious. Backed up by Amy and Sarah, he orders Kathy to leave, which she does. Kathy returns and gets back together with Mike after the two decide to reconcile for the sake of their daughters. Amy gives birth to Leah Barnes (Ela-May Demircan) and Kathy feels ashamed. To cover it up, Kathy decides to raise Leah as her own. Kathy leaves to stay with her mother for a short while. In this time, Amy bonds with Leah and declares she wants to raise Leah, she also tells everyone she is Leah's real mother. Kathy realises she will lose Leah and kidnaps her. Eventually Leah is returned to Amy as Kathy moves to her mother's to recover from trauma.

Kathy returns in October 2007, and finds Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) living with Amy. Kathy and Mike are not happy and throw Ste out. Amy then leaves with Leah and moves in with Ste. Kathy phones the social services which excludes her from her daughter even more. Kathy discovers Sarah and Rhys are back together. Their relationship leads to the start of Kathy's vendetta against the Ashworth family. The family begins getting strange phone calls, vandalism on their house and even a Tupperware box full of faeces. The Ashworths begin to accuse several people including Ste and even own family members Hannah Ashworth (Emma Rigby) and Beth Clement (Sinéad Moynihan). Whilst throwing a brick through the window of the Ashworth family business, Drive 'n' Buy, Kathy loses a nail. She goes to Evissa for a manicure and tells Carmel Valentine (Gemma Merna) that she took the nail off after it became loose. Carmel turns detective and finds a broken nail outside Drive 'n' Buy. She then reveals Kathy as the vandal. Kathy, Mike, Sarah, Amy and Ste are confronted by Rhys, Hannah, Beth. Suzanne (Suzanne Hall), Neville (Jim Millea), and Josh (Sonny Flood). Kathy also gets jealous of Zoe Carpenter (Zoë Lister) and falsely accuses her and Mike of cheating. Although he had always previously supported Kathy throughout all of her various issues while at Hollyoaks, this accusation, coupled with Kathy's vendetta against the Ashworths, finally proves to be the last straw for Mike. Unable to cope with Kathy's behaviour any longer Mike tells her to leave. When she refuses, Mike throws her out, and Kathy goes to stay with her mother. In January 2008 Mike subsequently files for a divorce.

In October 2009, Sarah dies during a parachute jump. Mike phones Kathy to tell her the bad news. However, she does not attend Sarah's funeral.

2017

In March 2017, Kathy is mentioned as getting on the wrong train travelling to daughter Amy's wedding subsequently missing the ceremony. She returns to Hollyoaks in April 2017 for Amy's funeral, after she is murdered. Kathy and Mike have an argument over allowing Zoe to come for Amy funeral.

She later returned in September for Ste's trail for Amy's murder. After catching Ryan kissing Tegan Lomax (Jessica Ellis) and decides to take Leah & Lucas away from her. She takes them to the beach where she unearths Shane Sweeney's (Michael Salami) handgun; Shane had been reported missing a couple of weeks earlier. Instead of calling the police, Kathy decides to keep the gun for herself.

The following day, Ste is found not guilty of Amy's murder, with Kathy running off in tears. Having watching Ste being released, Kathy decides to shoot him in the courtroom. Ste survives the shooting with no internal injuries. Kathy is last seen being escorted to the police station, under arrest for attempted murder.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhys Ashworth</span> UK soap opera character, created 2005

Rhys Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Andrew Moss. He made his first on-screen appearance in September 2005. Rhys was killed off in the Enjoy The Ride storyline in an episode airing on 15 November 2012 and the character departed on 16 November 2012. Rhys made a return on 27 June 2014 as part of his ex-girlfriend Cindy Cunningham's storyline about her bipolar disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Ashworth</span> UK soap opera character, created 2005

Hannah Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Emma Rigby. Hannah first appeared on-screen on 27 September 2005 and her last appearance was on 12 February 2010. It was announced on 8 November 2023 that she was to return after 13 years away for a number of episodes in early January, and was later announced to be making a permanent return. Hannah briefly returned for a short stint from 19 to 23 January 2024, before a permanent return later in the spring of the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Ashworth</span> UK soap opera character, created 2005

Josh Ashworth, played by Sonny Flood, is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks. His first appearance was on 3 October 2005. Josh's storylines have included attempted murder, underage sex, drugs, drinking and joyriding. Flood returned to filming as Josh for three episodes airing in May and August 2012 after a two-year break.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzanne Ashworth</span> UK soap opera character, created 2005

Suzanne Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Suzanne Hall. She made her first on-screen appearance on 30 September 2005. Suzanne was introduced by series producer David Hanson as part of the Ashworth family. In February 2010, Suzanne was axed from the serial by new series producer Paul Marquess. Suzanne made her final appearance on 14 July 2010. Marquess stated in an interview that he was a big fan of Hall's work in the serial. In late 2010 it was revealed that Hall had returned to filming and Suzanne would be pregnant with twins. Suzanne's storylines have included trying to keep her family together, fathering a son Rhys Ashworth secretly with another man, other affairs and a feud with Kathy Barnes. Suzanne returned to Hollyoaks on 14 January 2011 for a period of 2 months. In 2012 it was announced that Hall had reprised the role once again. It was announced in November 2023, that Hall would be reprising the role once again and would be returning "for the foreseeable" with her return scenes airing on 23 January 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Slanina-Davies</span> English actress (b. 1989)

Ashley Slanina-Davies is an English actress. She is known for her debut role as Amy Barnes in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.

Fletch (<i>Hollyoaks</i>) UK soap opera character, created 2005

Jamie "Fletch" Fletcher is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sam Darbyshire. The character made his first on-screen appearance on 21 October 2005. Fletch was originally a recurring character and Darbyshire was promoted to the regular cast in 2007 by executive producer Bryan Kirkwood. The character is introduced into the series as a student studying at the local school and a member of the show's Ashworth family. Fletch is characterised as "easily led" and a solitary figure who "enjoys his own company". Writers created a double act between him and Josh Ashworth.

Mike Barnes (<i>Hollyoaks</i>) UK soap opera character, created 2006

Mike Barnes is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Tony Hirst. He first appeared on 30 January 2006. In 2010, soap opera magazine Inside Soap reported that the character would leave in late January with love interest Zoe Carpenter. This was later confirmed. The character briefly returned in August 2016 and again in March 2017, where his youngest daughter Amy Barnes was killed off in a "whodunit" storyline. He returned again in September 2017 giving evidence against Ste Hay during Amy's murder trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Barnes</span> UK soap opera character, created 2005

Sarah Barnes is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Loui Batley. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 6 October 2005. Sarah was introduced by executive producer David Hanson as part of the Barnes family. In 2009, Batley quit the serial in order to pursue other projects. The character has been central to many key storylines, one of the earliest the high-profile gay storyline involving supercouple John Paul McQueen and Craig Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Barnes</span> UK soap opera character, created 2005

Amy Barnes is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Ashley Slanina-Davies. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 2 January 2006. Amy was created by executive producer David Hanson and Slanina-Davies was offered the role whilst looking for work as an extra. In 2009, Slanina-Davies stated that she would be lost without the role and confirmed her loyalty to the serial. In July 2010, it was announced that Slanina-Davies would be leaving the show. However, it was later revealed that she was back filming and staying in the serial in 2011. Amy's storylines have included underage pregnancy which resulted in the birth of daughter Leah Barnes and the subject of domestic abuse in her relationship with Ste Hay, portrayed by Kieron Richardson. Whilst filming the storyline, Slanina-Davies cut her long hair off for charity and this was scripted into the storyline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michaela McQueen</span> UK soap opera character, created 2006

Michaela McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Hollie-Jay Bowes. Michaela was the first of the McQueen family to be seen on-screen in 2006, when she was credited as Michaela Jones. On 8 June 2010, Bowes announced that she had quit the show and would leave in six months. However, it was announced on 24 June 2010 that show bosses had axed Bowes and speedily wrote Michaela out after she spoke about upcoming storylines and her exit on social networking website Twitter. Bowes reprised her role as Michaela in 2011, initially appearing in the fourth series of Hollyoaks Later, before reappearing in the main series. In July 2012, Bowes confirmed she would be leaving Hollyoaks, and her final scenes would air on 31 August 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilly Roach</span> Fictional character from Hollyoaks

Gilly Roach is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Anthony Quinlan. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode broadcast on 6 October 2005. Gilly was created in 2005 by executive producer David Hanson. Gilly has often been portrayed as a push-over and has a double act partnership with fellow character Rhys Ashworth. His main character traits have been his "nice attitude", with Quinlan branding Gilly in his first five years as a "push-over". He has been labelled a loser and unlucky in love after failed relationships with Jessica Harris, Beth Clement, Cheryl Brady and Jem Costello. In 2009, executive producer Lucy Alan made changes to the character and reached a mutual agreement with Quinlan to shave off his hair, which has characterised Gilly during his early years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoe Carpenter</span> UK soap opera character, created 2006

Zoe Carpenter is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Zoë Lister. The character first appeared on-screen on 1 September 2006, as one of three new students at Hollyoaks Community College. It was announced in 2009 that Lister had quit her role in order to pursue other projects; she subsequently left the series in January 2010. During Zoe's time in Hollyoaks she has been portrayed as a bubbly tomboy who often makes the wrong choices in life and has had a number of failed relationships. In March 2017, it was reported that Lister would be reprising the role and it was later confirmed that she would return for Amy Barnes' funeral. Her return aired on 24 April 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ste Hay</span> Fictional character from Hollyoaks

Ste Hay is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kieron Richardson. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 10 February 2006. Ste was created by David Hanson and was originally intended to be a short-term character for seven episodes. The following series producer Bryan Kirkwood decided to bring the character back on a permanent basis. As of 2010, Richardson has revealed that he is committed to staying in the serial. In April 2017, Richardson began taking hiatus from the show due to paternity leave, and made a full-time return on 18 December 2017. In October 2019, it was confirmed that Richardson will take a hiatus from the show departing on 20 November 2019. He returned on 3 November 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lydia Hart</span> Character from Hollyoaks, created 2009

Lydia Hart is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lydia Kelly. Lydia was created by series producer Bryan Kirkwood as one of many characters introduced that year. She made her debut in the soap on 4 March 2009, and remained for ten months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Lau</span> UK soap opera character, created 2009

Charlotte Lau is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Amy Yamazaki. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 9 June 2009 and was introduced by series producer Lucy Allan as the ex-girlfriend of Lydia Hart. In September 2010, it was announced that Yamazaki and Charlotte had departed Hollyoaks and her final scenes had already aired, with Charlotte making her final appearance on 17 September 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leanne Holiday</span> Soap opera character

Leanne Holiday is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks and its Internet spin-off Hollyoaks: Freshers, played by Jessica Forrest. Forrest's casting was announced in July 2010 and she began filming her scenes in June. The actress originally commuted from Manchester to Liverpool for filming, before relocating there. Forrest was a drama and film studies student when she gained the role of Leanne. She made her first appearance in Hollyoaks: Freshers on 26 August 2010 before appearing in the main show. Leanne departed the show on 21 October 2013, when the character was killed off in an explosion as part of the show's eighteenth anniversary celebrations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ally Gorman</span> UK soap opera character, created 2012

Ally Gorman is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Dan O'Connor. The actor's casting was announced in December 2011. O'Connor originally auditioned for a different role, before being asked to audition for the part of Ally. O'Connor was given the part and began filming his scenes three days later. Hollyoaks' series producer, Emma Smithwick, said that O'Connor "nailed" his audition. O'Connor signed up for an initial twelve episode stint, but his contract was extended and he became a regular cast member. The actor commutes from London to Liverpool for filming. O'Connor made his debut screen appearance as Ally during the episode broadcast on 31 January 2012. O'Connor departed Hollyoaks on 27 November 2012.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Green, Kris (11 October 2007). "Two Hollyoaks departures revealed". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  2. Kilkelly, Daniel (17 April 2017). "Hollyoaks' Kathy Barnes clashes bitterly with Zoe Carpenter when they both return for Amy's funeral". Digital Spy . Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. Dowling, Mark (4 November 2010). "Former Hollyoaks star Sarah Jane Buckley coming home to Flintshire for Christmas". Flintshire Chronicle. Archived from the original on 15 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Kilkelly, Daniel (20 August 2009). "Buckley eager for 'Oaks comeback". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 22 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  5. 1 2 On-line reporter (20 August 2009). "Actress keen for Hollyoaks return". Holy Soap. Retrieved 28 December 2009.[ permanent dead link ]