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Guest Character Profiles > Kate Newton Briony Behets

Kate Newton 2008

As Harold Bishop travelled around Australia in his campervan, he met a new friend in Kate Newton. However, as they were growing closer, Harold returned to Ramsay Street for a quick visit, and, after a few days of secrecy and ignoring phone calls, he admitted to his friends that he’d used stories from old friend, Lou Carpenter’s life to make him sound more interesting and appealing to Kate. With a bit of a helping hand from Lou, Kate eventually arrived in Erinsborough. Harold kept up his false pretence to her, much to the amusement of Lou and Harold’s friends. It soon became apparent that one of the main lies Harold had told was that he used to be a car salesman. When talking to Susan Kinski at the General Store, Kate admitted that she had been married twice, and that she wasn’t a big fan of cars at all and had merely lied to Harold about her enthusiasm for them because she liked him too much, and was afraid of missing out on getting to know a genuinely nice man. Knowing that Harold was lying too, Susan encouraged Kate to own up, but she refused to tell the truth, and the situation only got more complicated when Lou organized for the pair to go to a car festival.

With Kate growing worried about how quiet Harold was being, and telling him that he was so kind and considerate, unlike her two ex-husbands, who treated her like a trophy, neither of them was in any mood to argue when Lou turned up and announced that he'd arranged a surprise for them in Ramsay Street. As they waited together back at the street, Harold finally admitted the truth - he had no interest in cars - and a relieved Kate told him that she felt the same way, so when Lou then turned up in a truck, loudly honking the horn, they both laughed and walked away, arm in arm.

With Harold preparing to go away once again on his travels, he plucked up the courage to invite Kate along with him. She delightfully accepted the offer but Harold soon began to regret asking her when she started planning an itinerary for their journey up the Gold Coast. Harold wanted to just hit the open road, travelling without any plans, but the confusion caused Kate to get upset and storm off. Believing that he'd blown it, Harold prepared to leave Ramsay Street, but just as he was about to go, he was only too happy to see Kate arrive. Kate apologized for being over-powering and trying to organize everything, and with that, Harold invited her to go travelling with him again and they happily set off for their next adventure.

Trivia Notes
• Kate lives in Brisbane although met Harold in Bermagui, New South Wales
• She’s been married twice. Both times her marriages ended because she was left for a younger woman
• Briony Behets previously appeared in 1987 as Amanda Harris
• To read our interview with Briony, click here

Biography by Edd