Katherine "Kathy" Beale (née Hills, previously Sullivan and Mitchell) was born in Walford to Brenda and Dennis Hills in 1950. Her family was destitute, East End family, headed by an abusive and alcoholic father and she was often protected by her elder brother, Ted. Aged fourteen, Kathy was raped by music teacher Marcus Duffy, resulting in a pregnancy. Her daughter was given up for adoption. In 1965, she fell for a local boy, Pete Beale, but he was already married to Pat Harris after she claimed she was pregnant with his child. After finding out that Pat had a string of affairs, Pete left Pat and his two sons and went to be with Kathy in 1965, and divorced Pat in 1966. Pete and Kathy's relationship was opposed by Pete's mother, Lou who wouldn't condone her son's divorce and Kathy's brother,