Katherine "Kathy" Sullivan (also Beale and Mitchell) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gillian Taylforth between 1985 and 2000, and from 2015 onwards. Kathy is 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 (Adam Woodyatt), departing again on 6 January 2000. Despite various rumours of a possible return for