Kathy Brookman
Encyclopedia
Katherine Elizabeth "Kathy" Brookman (née Bates; previously Tate, Merrick and Glover) is a fictional character
on the ITV
soap opera
Emmerdale
, She was played by Malandra Burrows
. as a regular character from 1985 until she was axed in 2001 by series producer Steve Frost
.
In October 2005 series producer Kathleen Beedles
reintroduced the character, when Burrows reprised the role briefly for the funeral of Seth Armstrong
.
introduced Nick Bates (Cy Chadwick
) and Kathy Bates Malandra Burrows
. Kathy and Nick are the two children of already established character Caroline Bates (Diana Davies), who first appeared in 1984. Burrows hadn't realised how agricultural the role was going to be and that Burrows would be playing a farm
girl. Coming from Liverpool
, Burrows had no idea about any of this.
[...] I was supposed to milk the cows, but I was frightened of being kicked. [...] Burrows first memory was the smell when she walked in there. [...] I couldn't say my lines and was gasping for breath. Jack Sugden
(Clive Hornby
and Joe Sugden
(Frazer Hines
), as they both, loved winding me up. That first time, they said to me, "Watch for twitching tails." I wondered what they meant. Then I felt something hot and warm down my back and realised I was covered!
. They told her that in effect the rumours are correct, and she was being written out of the show.It was not clear at the time whether or not Kathy would be killed off or the door left ajar. Her father Malcolm said: [...] "She has asked them to do it as quickly as possible. She also told them that it was best that they came to this decision because she would have stayed until her teeth fell out. "She is sad. It's a bit like leaving school." [...]
In the past Burrows had offers for sitcoms which she has been unable to take up.
At the time Burrows was one of the soap's highest paid stars with a reported income of £80,000 a year.. In February 2005 Stan Richards
passed away later In July 2005 it was announced that Burrows agreed to reprise her role for the funeral of Seth Armstrong
. [...]"Burrows was one of the most popular characters on Emmerdale," an insider told the Sunday Mirror
, "Her return is a huge coup."[...] ..
She worked part-time at Emmerdale Farm and in 1988 set up a farm shop with Dolly Skilbeck and helped make goat’s cheese.
Kathy was also a keen horsewoman and looked after Joe and Alan’s horses.
Her relationship with Jackie Merrick lasted for three years before they finally decided to marry, his impulsive nature in marked contrast to Kathv’s easy-going style. When they broke up during 1987, she went out with Tony Marchant, a rich relative of NY boss Christopher Meadows. This made Jackie so jealous that he smashed up his van and pleaded with Kathy to go back with him. She agreed and they became engaged, marrying in February 1988.
The wedding was almost ruined when a burst water tank in the Bates’ cottage destroyed Kathy’s dress, the night before. The day was saved when Annie, Dolly and Caroline altered Annie’s own wedding dress - an Edwardian one worn by her own mother - which Kathy wore instead. Kathy and Jackie went on honeymoon to Tunisia and, despite unexpected adventures, enjoyed themselves.
The Merricks began married life in the attic at Emmerdale Farm and were delighted when Joe offered them Demdyke in December 1988. They were always struggling financially, however, on Jackie’s meagre wage, supplemented by Kathy’s earnings as part-time barmaid at the Woolpack. Her hours clashed with Jackie’s so she gave it up.
Jackie’s death, in August 1989, devastated Kathy. She took his job as a farm labourer at Emmerdale, as well as running their own 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of rented land at Home Farm, until new landlord Frank Tate evicted her in January 1990. She was particularly involved with the sheep - both 40 of her own and 650 of Emmerdale’s - despite miscarrying in 1989 due to the sheep-related disease Chiamydia psittaci.
For several months she lost interest in everything, and only began to come out of her shell when she reluctantly joined the cast of the village play Dracula in January 1990. By this time, Chris Tate was keen, but she initially rejected his advances.
George Starkey, a lorry-driver who also tried to date her, brought news that a cafe owner in Southampton, who was also a medium, had a message from her dead husband. Kathy went to Southampton, despite much advice not to lake such things seriously, but the inconclusive experience made her decide to get on with her life. By this time, Chris Tate was becoming more important to her and their relationship flourished.
In April, 1990, they spent the night together and in May, much to his surprise and delight, she moved in with him at Home Farm.
Any misgivings she may have had about doing this were heightened when Chris bought her a car after her old Citroen was written off by Rachel Hughes, to whom she was giving a driving lesson. Kathy s experiences had made her the more mature of the two, and Chris’s belief that expensive gifts could solve differences would be the cause of manv disagreements through their marriage.
Another present - this time, from father-in-law Frank - was their matrimonial home at Mill Cottage, though the couple eventually insisted on paying him for it. No matter how agreeable the surroundings. Kathy was never one for staying at home, much as Chris would have liked her to become a full-time cook. skivvy and bottle washer.
A period of filling in as her husband’s secretary saw her prove the point as she secretly gained her HGV licence, celebrating by backing a giant truck into a space outside the office as Chris looked on open-mouthed! She then went on to look after Kim’s horses at Home Farm before the discovery of her boss’s affair with Neil Kincaid put her in an impossible position and she quit. She then took up her friend Lynn Whiteley’s offer to help her run the wine bar at the Woolpack, but Chris was opposed to this - not least due to Lynn’s oft-expressed low opinion of him.
In 1993, Kathy’s frustration with her husband’s attitudes and activities would lead to a brief dalliance with American wine rep Josh Lewis. She was on the point of eloping with him, but the discovery of Chris injured in the wreckage of the Woolpack following the plane crash brought her back to her ‘senses’, and, like the dutiful wife she felt she should be, Kathy prepared herself for life with a wheelchair-using husband in a purpose-built bungalow organized, inevitably, by her father-in-law.
In 1994 Chris and Kathy's marriage ended when he began to have an affair with Rachel Hughes and got her pregnant but she was present when Rachel went into labour and they became friends after that. In 1995 Kathy divorced Chris and used the divorce settlement money to buy the old school tearooms in Emmerdale. Moving on from Chris, Kathy started a relationship with Dave Glover
, one of the Tates' employees. However, Dave too had been seeing somebody else - Kathy's former stepmother-in-law Kim Tate
. When Kim went back to Frank, Kathy and Dave reunited and married on November 28, 1996, but it wasn't long before Dave was seeing Kim again. Kim and Dave planned to run away with her son James, believing that Dave was the father. Dave died in a fire at Home Farm on Boxing Day 1996, trying to save the baby that he thought was his. James eventually turned out to be Frank's child.
In 1999, Kathy was ditched at the altar by her fourth fiancé Biff Fowler
(Dave's previous brother-in-law). Kathy was subject to many disasters. She was involved in the plane crash, when her then husband, Chris, needed to use a wheelchair. She was run over, as Kim and her second husband Steve stole a horse from the Tates. She was subject to an attempted murder by Graham Clark, who had previously killed Kathy's best friend Rachel. She was also involved in the accident which killed Butch Dingle when the community bus was hit by the Tate Haulage lorry. Kathy was then imprisoned for protesting against the Haulage company owned by her ex-husband.
In 2000, when Jack Sugden was arrested for the murder of his estranged wife, Sarah
, Kathy moved into the farm to look after Jack's children, Andy
, Robert
and Victoria
. Kathy nearly had a mental breakdown when Robert and Andy would not stop arguing and the herd of cows contracted tuberculosis
.
Kathy left Emmerdale in December 2001 to go to Australia
with her niece, Alice Bates
, when Alice's mother Elsa Chappell wanted her to move over there. While in Australia, in December 2002 news got back to Emmerdale that she had given birth to a healthy girl.
By 2003 Kathy's first three husbands had all died, although she had been divorced from Chris Tate when he committed suicide.
to his longtime companion Betty Eagleton
. However Seth died on the flight back to Emmerdale, so Kathy stayed for the funeral before going back to Australia. Kathy's ex-boyfriend and former husband-to-be Biff also returned at this time but they did not speak to each other. It is now presumed that Kathy was married again in Australia as her surname at her last appearance was Brookman but her husband's name is not known as is the name of her daughter.
In December 2006, Alan Turner flew out to Australia and visited Kathy for a month. He visited again for the first half of 2008.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
, She was played by Malandra Burrows
Malandra Burrows
Malandra Elizabeth Burrows is an English actress and singer.-Early life:Burrows' first name, Malandra, is a portmanteau of her parents' names, Malcolm and Sandra. Her mother encouraged her at an early age to begin dancing; she initially trained under Billy Pearce's mother Jean...
. as a regular character from 1985 until she was axed in 2001 by series producer Steve Frost
Steve Frost
Steven "Steve" November is a British television producer, he is currently employed by ITV as the continuing drama producer.-Career:...
.
In October 2005 series producer Kathleen Beedles
Kathleen Beedles
Kathleen Beedles originates from Rogart in Sutherland. She attended Golspie High School where she did some acting in a film with Tom Hanks. She is a former Series Producer of British television soap opera Emmerdale. She took over from Steve Frost during 2005. Kathleen was producer and series editor...
reintroduced the character, when Burrows reprised the role briefly for the funeral of Seth Armstrong
Seth Armstrong
Archibald Seth Armstrong is a fictional character in the ITV soap Emmerdale, played by Stan Richards from 1978 until 2003, when the actor's ill health forced him to leave the show for more than a year...
.
Casting
In 1985 the producer of Emmerdale Farm, Richard HandfordRichard Handford
Richard Handford is a British television producer.In 1997 he was appointed executive producer on The Bill, having previously worked on the show as producer since the early 1990s. He left the show in late 2001 and his final episodes appeared on-screen in January 2002.He also served as series...
introduced Nick Bates (Cy Chadwick
Cy Chadwick
Cy Chadwick is an English actor, director, producer, and Presenter. His most notable acting role was of Nick Bates in the long-running British soap Emmerdale Farm between 1985 and 1996....
) and Kathy Bates Malandra Burrows
Malandra Burrows
Malandra Elizabeth Burrows is an English actress and singer.-Early life:Burrows' first name, Malandra, is a portmanteau of her parents' names, Malcolm and Sandra. Her mother encouraged her at an early age to begin dancing; she initially trained under Billy Pearce's mother Jean...
. Kathy and Nick are the two children of already established character Caroline Bates (Diana Davies), who first appeared in 1984. Burrows hadn't realised how agricultural the role was going to be and that Burrows would be playing a farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
girl. Coming from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Burrows had no idea about any of this.
[...] I was supposed to milk the cows, but I was frightened of being kicked. [...] Burrows first memory was the smell when she walked in there. [...] I couldn't say my lines and was gasping for breath. Jack Sugden
Jack Sugden
John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character in the British television soap opera Emmerdale. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1974 with a brief return in 1976, when he left for Italy to write a book. On his return in 1980 he was played by Clive Hornby...
(Clive Hornby
Clive Hornby
Clive Hornby was an English actor, known for his part in ITV's Emmerdale as farmer Jack Sugden.-Television:...
and Joe Sugden
Joe Sugden
Joseph "Joe" Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by Frazer Hines.Joe was one of the main characters in the Yorkshire-set soap for a 22-year period between 1972–1994 with a brief intermittancy of three years in the 1980s...
(Frazer Hines
Frazer Hines
Frazer Hines is an English actor best known for his roles as Jamie McCrimmon in Doctor Who and Joe Sugden in Emmerdale. Hines was born in Horsforth, a civil parish of Leeds.-Acting career:...
), as they both, loved winding me up. That first time, they said to me, "Watch for twitching tails." I wondered what they meant. Then I felt something hot and warm down my back and realised I was covered!
2001 Departure and 2005 Return
In July 2001 it was announced in the press that Malandra Burrows had been axed from Emmerdale after playing the part of Kathy for 16 years, she was given the news during a meeting with soap bosses at the Leeds StudiosThe Leeds Studios
The Leeds Studios also known as the Yorkshire Television Studios or YTV Studios is a television production complex on Kirkstall Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
. They told her that in effect the rumours are correct, and she was being written out of the show.It was not clear at the time whether or not Kathy would be killed off or the door left ajar. Her father Malcolm said: [...] "She has asked them to do it as quickly as possible. She also told them that it was best that they came to this decision because she would have stayed until her teeth fell out. "She is sad. It's a bit like leaving school." [...]
In the past Burrows had offers for sitcoms which she has been unable to take up.
At the time Burrows was one of the soap's highest paid stars with a reported income of £80,000 a year.. In February 2005 Stan Richards
Stan Richards
For the Wales international footballer see Stan Richards Stanley "Stan" Richards was an English television actor, best known for his portrayal of the lovable rogue and ex-poacher turned gamekeeper, Seth Armstrong, in ITV soap operaEmmerdale .-Career:He played the role of Seth Armstrong from May...
passed away later In July 2005 it was announced that Burrows agreed to reprise her role for the funeral of Seth Armstrong
Seth Armstrong
Archibald Seth Armstrong is a fictional character in the ITV soap Emmerdale, played by Stan Richards from 1978 until 2003, when the actor's ill health forced him to leave the show for more than a year...
. [...]"Burrows was one of the most popular characters on Emmerdale," an insider told the Sunday Mirror
Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
, "Her return is a huge coup."[...] ..
1985-2001
Born in 1967, Kathy Bates arrived in Emmerdale with her mother, Caroline, and brother, Nick, in 1985, following her parents’ separation. She was then studying for ‘A’ levels, but left school when Alan Turner gave her a job at NY Estates as a farm worker. She was put in charge of the poultry unit at Home Farm, where thousands of battey hens were reared. Eventually, it became too much for her and she walked out - which didn’t surprise Joe Sugden, who had advised against her appointment all along.She worked part-time at Emmerdale Farm and in 1988 set up a farm shop with Dolly Skilbeck and helped make goat’s cheese.
Kathy was also a keen horsewoman and looked after Joe and Alan’s horses.
Her relationship with Jackie Merrick lasted for three years before they finally decided to marry, his impulsive nature in marked contrast to Kathv’s easy-going style. When they broke up during 1987, she went out with Tony Marchant, a rich relative of NY boss Christopher Meadows. This made Jackie so jealous that he smashed up his van and pleaded with Kathy to go back with him. She agreed and they became engaged, marrying in February 1988.
The wedding was almost ruined when a burst water tank in the Bates’ cottage destroyed Kathy’s dress, the night before. The day was saved when Annie, Dolly and Caroline altered Annie’s own wedding dress - an Edwardian one worn by her own mother - which Kathy wore instead. Kathy and Jackie went on honeymoon to Tunisia and, despite unexpected adventures, enjoyed themselves.
The Merricks began married life in the attic at Emmerdale Farm and were delighted when Joe offered them Demdyke in December 1988. They were always struggling financially, however, on Jackie’s meagre wage, supplemented by Kathy’s earnings as part-time barmaid at the Woolpack. Her hours clashed with Jackie’s so she gave it up.
Jackie’s death, in August 1989, devastated Kathy. She took his job as a farm labourer at Emmerdale, as well as running their own 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) of rented land at Home Farm, until new landlord Frank Tate evicted her in January 1990. She was particularly involved with the sheep - both 40 of her own and 650 of Emmerdale’s - despite miscarrying in 1989 due to the sheep-related disease Chiamydia psittaci.
For several months she lost interest in everything, and only began to come out of her shell when she reluctantly joined the cast of the village play Dracula in January 1990. By this time, Chris Tate was keen, but she initially rejected his advances.
George Starkey, a lorry-driver who also tried to date her, brought news that a cafe owner in Southampton, who was also a medium, had a message from her dead husband. Kathy went to Southampton, despite much advice not to lake such things seriously, but the inconclusive experience made her decide to get on with her life. By this time, Chris Tate was becoming more important to her and their relationship flourished.
In April, 1990, they spent the night together and in May, much to his surprise and delight, she moved in with him at Home Farm.
Any misgivings she may have had about doing this were heightened when Chris bought her a car after her old Citroen was written off by Rachel Hughes, to whom she was giving a driving lesson. Kathy s experiences had made her the more mature of the two, and Chris’s belief that expensive gifts could solve differences would be the cause of manv disagreements through their marriage.
Another present - this time, from father-in-law Frank - was their matrimonial home at Mill Cottage, though the couple eventually insisted on paying him for it. No matter how agreeable the surroundings. Kathy was never one for staying at home, much as Chris would have liked her to become a full-time cook. skivvy and bottle washer.
A period of filling in as her husband’s secretary saw her prove the point as she secretly gained her HGV licence, celebrating by backing a giant truck into a space outside the office as Chris looked on open-mouthed! She then went on to look after Kim’s horses at Home Farm before the discovery of her boss’s affair with Neil Kincaid put her in an impossible position and she quit. She then took up her friend Lynn Whiteley’s offer to help her run the wine bar at the Woolpack, but Chris was opposed to this - not least due to Lynn’s oft-expressed low opinion of him.
In 1993, Kathy’s frustration with her husband’s attitudes and activities would lead to a brief dalliance with American wine rep Josh Lewis. She was on the point of eloping with him, but the discovery of Chris injured in the wreckage of the Woolpack following the plane crash brought her back to her ‘senses’, and, like the dutiful wife she felt she should be, Kathy prepared herself for life with a wheelchair-using husband in a purpose-built bungalow organized, inevitably, by her father-in-law.
In 1994 Chris and Kathy's marriage ended when he began to have an affair with Rachel Hughes and got her pregnant but she was present when Rachel went into labour and they became friends after that. In 1995 Kathy divorced Chris and used the divorce settlement money to buy the old school tearooms in Emmerdale. Moving on from Chris, Kathy started a relationship with Dave Glover
Dave Glover
David Edward "Dave" Glover is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale played by Ian Kelsey.-Storylines:Dave arrived in the village with his parents Ned and Jan and younger siblings Linda and Roy in August 1994. He got a job working as a farmhand at Home Farm.Until 1995, Dave...
, one of the Tates' employees. However, Dave too had been seeing somebody else - Kathy's former stepmother-in-law Kim Tate
Kim Tate
Kimberly Jane 'Kim' Tate is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. who appeared between 1989 and 1999, She was played by actress Claire King. Kim Tate is seen as one of the most iconic characters in the history of British soap opera, having been dubbed The Soap Superbitch...
. When Kim went back to Frank, Kathy and Dave reunited and married on November 28, 1996, but it wasn't long before Dave was seeing Kim again. Kim and Dave planned to run away with her son James, believing that Dave was the father. Dave died in a fire at Home Farm on Boxing Day 1996, trying to save the baby that he thought was his. James eventually turned out to be Frank's child.
In 1999, Kathy was ditched at the altar by her fourth fiancé Biff Fowler
Biff Fowler
Brian Ian Francis "Biff" Fowler is a fictional character in the British ITV soapEmmerdale, played by Stuart Wade from 1994 until 1999. Biff later returned for Seth Armstrong's Funeral in October 2005.-Casting:...
(Dave's previous brother-in-law). Kathy was subject to many disasters. She was involved in the plane crash, when her then husband, Chris, needed to use a wheelchair. She was run over, as Kim and her second husband Steve stole a horse from the Tates. She was subject to an attempted murder by Graham Clark, who had previously killed Kathy's best friend Rachel. She was also involved in the accident which killed Butch Dingle when the community bus was hit by the Tate Haulage lorry. Kathy was then imprisoned for protesting against the Haulage company owned by her ex-husband.
In 2000, when Jack Sugden was arrested for the murder of his estranged wife, Sarah
Sarah Sugden
Sarah Sugden is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera, Emmerdale. She was first played by Madeleine Howard from 1988 until 1994 then by Alyson Spiro from 1994 until 2000.-1988–1997:...
, Kathy moved into the farm to look after Jack's children, Andy
Andy Sugden
Andrew "Andy" Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Kelvin Fletcher.-1996–2007:...
, Robert
Robert Sugden
Robert Jacob Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale. He was played by three different actors: Richard Smith , Christopher Smith and Karl Davies .-Storylines:A character that was born on the show, Robert was notorious for the number of romantic relationships in...
and Victoria
Victoria Sugden
Victoria Anne Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale originally played by Jessica Heywood, then Hannah Midgley and currently Isabel Hodgins.-1994–:...
. Kathy nearly had a mental breakdown when Robert and Andy would not stop arguing and the herd of cows contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Kathy left Emmerdale in December 2001 to go to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with her niece, Alice Bates
Alice Bates
Alice Rose Bates was a fictional character on ITV's Emmerdale from 1991-1999, 2001. She was played by two actresses: Kimberley Hewitt from 1991-1993 and by Rachel Tolboys from 1993-2001.-Early Life:...
, when Alice's mother Elsa Chappell wanted her to move over there. While in Australia, in December 2002 news got back to Emmerdale that she had given birth to a healthy girl.
By 2003 Kathy's first three husbands had all died, although she had been divorced from Chris Tate when he committed suicide.
2005
Kathy returned in 2005 when she was going to bring back Seth ArmstrongSeth Armstrong
Archibald Seth Armstrong is a fictional character in the ITV soap Emmerdale, played by Stan Richards from 1978 until 2003, when the actor's ill health forced him to leave the show for more than a year...
to his longtime companion Betty Eagleton
Betty Eagleton
Elizabeth "Betty" Eagleton is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Paula Tilbrook. She made her first on-screen appearance on 12 April 1994 and, in 2011, following the death of Viv Hope, she is the longest-serving female character.-Backstory:Betty Pendergrast and...
. However Seth died on the flight back to Emmerdale, so Kathy stayed for the funeral before going back to Australia. Kathy's ex-boyfriend and former husband-to-be Biff also returned at this time but they did not speak to each other. It is now presumed that Kathy was married again in Australia as her surname at her last appearance was Brookman but her husband's name is not known as is the name of her daughter.
In December 2006, Alan Turner flew out to Australia and visited Kathy for a month. He visited again for the first half of 2008.
See also
- Emmerdale Cast List
- Tate familyTate familyThe Tate family were a fictional family on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.-About the Tates:The Tate family were introduced in 1989, at the same time that 'Farm' was dropped from Emmerdales title, and were part of a more glamorous, Dallas-style feel to the soap.Self-made millionaire Frank and his...