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Karen Boyle (Cheryl Mackie) 2003-2004
First Regular Appearance: 7.1 (#293) Groundhog Day Last Regular Appearance: 7.14 (#306) New Years Resolution Duration: EP: 293 - 306 | SE: 7.1 – 7.14 Last Seen: Moved back to From Liverpool, Karen was three years older than her sister Donna, though the differences between the Gibb sisters made it hard to believe they had grown up in the same house. Karen is more honest, hard-working and considerate while Donna was self-serving and money-hungry. It was Karen's unassuming nature which led to her meeting Tony Boyle. An older man very good at keeping his dodgy side hidden, whilst finding in Karen the other half he'd always wanted to manipulate. Karen had a lot of time for Tony's son Dean, who was the same age as Donna and nothing like his father. Donna and Tony were always at each other's throats, sharing a guilty secret Karen and Dean never knew of. Tony's selfishness pushed his son away, and as Dean's birthday approached in May 2003, Karen sees a way of getting the family back together as their team Everton play Harchester at the Dragon's Lair. When Tony screws up again, Dean buys tickets (for the home crowd) from Steve Johnson, a ticket tout. The Boyles get more than they bargained for after the match however, when Phil Wallis raffles off Harchester United to the seat Donna is sitting in. The family have a three-way fight on their hands for the club - one being the tickets were the stolen property of Clyde Connelly. Clamping their caravan onto the Dragon's Lair car park, they then encounter Matt Webster, the occupant of the winning seat. Karen begins to have her doubts when Tony involves her in a series of compromising events. When they witness Ryan kill Steve, Tony steals his blackmail money and the police investigation into the Boyles' involvement sees Karen about to crack. Then at Clyde's court case against the Boyles for handling stolen goods, the family's claim is weakened when Donna joins forces with and marries Clyde, so Tony pressurises Karen into lying under oath, resulting in her being torn apart on the stand. By Christmas, Dean and Donna between them hold the only claims to the club, and thanks to Tony a now ditched Donna offers to sacrifice hers to rejoin her family. Karen couldn't be happier. That is until she's lured into Donna's revenge and finds Tony slobbering all over her sister. Tony dies from a heart attack, and with Karen aware he'd previously cheated with her sister, and Dean destroying the club he now owns all because of Donna's actions, Karen cannot stick around to see him ruin his life and those of other people. She returns to Liverpool, unwilling to forgive her sister. Cheryl Mackie's interview with Dream Team Diehard (March 2014) |
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