PC Kerry Young played by Beth Cordingly

First appearance    # 025 (11/07/02)     

Kerry Young, 26, was a confident and sparky young woman. She was down to earth, excitable and upbeat, refusing to be depressed at what life threw at her. Gregarious and friendly, Kerry always enjoyed a group situation, thriving on the approval of others. A career in the police force offered her a team atmosphere and ordered structure that she craved from the services, so she signed herself up straight from school. A young woman who lived life to the full, she did still have an unfulfilled wanderlust…at least in theory anyway.

Kerry's youthful impulsiveness was very much a part of her personality, loving to muck in, get her hands dirty and commit herself to a situation. She was also a big believer in fate and had an optimistic sense of "everything will work out for the best". Unfortunately this attitude sometimes lead Kerry into trouble when she didn't weigh up the consequences against actions. She frustrated the older members of the relief with her occasional bursts of rashness brought on by frustration. Always leaping before she looked, on the whole Kerry tended to land on her feet - or her natural charm enlisted someone else to help her extricate herself from most of her scrapes. On the rare occasion that her charm didn't work, or if someone decided they didn't like her, she'd become petulant.

Kerry was brought up single-handedly by her doting father Graham who's sole focus was his daughter following her mother's death when she was four. Unwittingly she was looking for the unattainable - the perfect fairytale marriage, where there was no need for compromise, argument or acceptance. It's not surprising that Kerry was constantly swept along by the first flush of romance in a relationship and then disappointed by the reality that followed. Case in point was her marriage to Luke Ashton and then subsequent miscarriage. Not surprisingly, she lost a little of her natural bounce.

Year upon year Kerry's luck became worse. She was goaded by Gabriel into accusing Smithy of rape and once she'd withdrawn the allegation no-one in the station believed a word that she said. She was the girl who cried rape. When Gabriel forced himself on her, Kerry gave up and turned into a very different person. No longer happy-go-lucky, she was guided by a darker force. She dated known criminals and flew in the face of the Job. Eventually Kerry began to see the light but on declaring her love for Smithy she was gunned down outside the station in his arms - by the man who made her life a misery, PC Gabriel Kent.