PC Cathy Bradford   played by Connie Hyde

First appearance    Set in Stone (31/01/02)        

Sun Hill psychopath Cathy Bradford made a dramatic entrance at Sun Hill, single-handedly apprehending a violent man who had escaped from custody. But this should have been no surprise from the ex-Inspector of Hong Kong police; tough-as-nails, Cathy was fully trained in martial arts and a highly ambitious officer. She allegedly returned to England after six years abroad to look after her mother who had a breakdown, following the death of her husband.

Cathy spent most of her lonely childhood on RAF bases around the world as her father was a flight engineer. After a series of dead-end jobs she left Hendon at 23 and was stationed in Leeds for her two year probation. Her nomadic childhood gave her permanent itchy feet, and when the opportunity to apply for the Hong Kong police arose, she grasped it with both hands. Cathy became an Inspector almost overnight and loved the buzz of a truly cosmopolitan city. She married a city trader but after a year her husband left for work one morning and never came back. With no trace of him she spent two years back packing and then returned to the UK, joining Sun Hill after a refresher course. Well, that was how Cathy told it anyway...

Cathy learnt how to be politically correct but, in private, had a very different view of the world. Completely unhinged, highly paranoid, and quite vindictive, she was a shrewd manipulator and wasn't averse to shafting her colleagues in order to get a result. She had planned out her career-path, ultimately keen to regain her rank of Inspector - and did anything to achieve her goals. At the end of the day, Cathy's only priority was herself - she'd quite happily use any methods, be them above-board or underhand, to get her own way. She conjured up being H.I.V. positive, assaulted a prisoner in custody, caused a doctor to lose her job - generally causing trouble wherever she went. Her colleagues remained oblivious, in particular DC Brandon Kane, with whom she had an unhealthy obsession. The only person to see through her veneer was Robbie Cryer, and look where that got her.

Cathy's ultimate downfall (aside from killing both her fiancé and Brandon's ex-wife) was abducting Brandon's children and holding them hostage in the boiler room of Sun Hill. Brandon swapped himself for his kids and she was eventually brought down. Cathy was then sectioned and found mentally unstable to stand trial for all her crimes.