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It should have been a brave and controversial storyline, dealing with child abuse, incest and underage pregnancy. But how did Kerry Brodie's story end up being so forgettable?
Kerry first appeared at Driscoll House asking what it was for. An intruder that night turned out to be the same girl, who claimed she was called Kim. Tony Burman recognised her from her earlier visit (the fact that anyone managed to remember her was amazing in itself) but he and Judy couldn't find out what her problems were. Eventually she admitted she was 14, not 17 as she'd originally said, and started to become friendly with Maxine.
Tony contacted the police, against Judy’s wishes, and Kim was recognised as Kerry Brodie, daughter of (surprise surprise) Bea’s brand new friend and work colleague, Cookie. Kerry later told Maxine she was pregnant and wanted an abortion, but wouldn’t say who the father was. Judy contacted Kerry's parents to let them know about the pregnancy, and at first her father blamed one of her friends. But when Judy and Maxine had a talk, they both suspected her father of incest.
Judy tried to persuade Kerry to tell her mother about it, explaining how Chrissie Latham’s life had been damaged by similar abuse. In the meantime, Cookie was unaware and was busy suggesting she and Kerry’s father bring up the child. But eventually Maxine gave a big enough hint for Cookie to realise the truth. Her knee-jerk reaction was to slap Kerry’s face, then quickly took her daughter in her arms.
Judy talked about how she went through with her own pregnancy, and despite not seeing her daughter until she'd become an adult, had no regrets about it. And Cookie suggested Kerry have the child and put it up for adoption. Kerry’s father tried to offer Cookie excuses, then money, which she rejected, reminding him that he'd raped his own daughter. Eventually Cookie and Kerry decided to move away, and went off to live with Cookie’s sister, where Kerry would have the baby after all.
Reading it as a summary like this, the story sounds quite deep and well thought out. However, I thought the actress' performance was mousey and forgettable, and the whole story was done and dusted within only four episodes. It also appeared in the series during a period when several other potentially interesting storylines and characters appear to have been rushed through without any real development. A great pity, as the issues raised here had only been mentioned in passing until this point, and were never explored in depth again. A wonderful opportunity was wasted, and the whole thing quickly forgotten about.
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