| Kath Fox | |
|---|---|
| Holby City character | |
 Jan Pearson as Kath Fox | |
| First appearance | "Knife Edge" 23 December 1999 |
| Last appearance | "Pastures New" 30 March 2004 |
| Portrayed by | Jan Pearson |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation |
|
| Family | Danny Shaughnessy (son) Lisa Fox (step-daughter) |
| Spouse | Simon Shaughnessy Terry Fox |
| Significant other | Father Michael Larry Phillips |
| Religion | Catholic |
Kath Fox (also Kath Shaughnessy) is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, played by actress Jan Pearson. She first appeared in the series two episode "Knife Edge", broadcast on 23 December 1999. Kath arrives at Holby City hospital as a Ward Sister. She is characterised as a devout Catholic with high moral values and the over-protective mother of Danny Shaughnessy (Jeremy Edwards). Writers played off her strong faith, often making it centric to various dramatic plots they conjured up for her. Over a four-year period she became a tortured character who had been domestically abused by her husband Simon Shaughnessy (Andrew Dunn). The stigma of a divorce in her religion makes her feel unable to leave him.
She befriends and later falls in love with a priest, Father Michael (Martin Ledwith). Following a near fatal beating from Simon she moved on to a romance with moneyed Terry Fox (Miles Anderson), but their happiness is short-lived because of Terry's terminal cancer. Writers featured her in a euthanasia story, when she agrees to assist him in committing suicide. A feud with her step-daughter Lisa Fox (Luisa Bradshaw-White) was created and Kath found herself standing trial for assisted suicide. Kath was then a regular feature in a controversial serial killer plot, in which patients are murdered by staff nurse Kelly Yorke (Rachel Leskovac). She tries to frame Kath, who lays blame to Kelly's brother Nic Yorke (Liam Garrigan), which results in Kelly stabbing Kath in a near fatal clash.
Following the succession of bleak stories for her character, Pearson decided to leave Holby City. She had made her intentions clear to producers in 2003 and they convinced her to stay for an extra year. The actress requested her unlucky character leave the show amidst a happy ending. Writers introduced Larry Phillips (Dominic Mafham) as Kath's love interest and they move away together. Pearson has stated that Kath became one of the show's best loved characters. Critics of the genre have praised her portrayal of Kath, though Jim Shelley from the Daily Mirror criticised Kath, whom he believed often went against her own faith and morals.