Cathy and Heath in Emmerdale are the teenage twin children of Bob Hope and his late wife, Viv. They’re uncle and aunt to April Windsor, who’s just two years younger.
Recently Cathy has been experiencing terrible mood swings and lashing out.
Cathy’s at the centre of a storyline ‘never covered before’ in soaps.
But who are Cathy and Heath?
Who plays Cathy and Heath in Emmerdale? Are they twins in real life?
The village siblings are played by real-life twins Gabrielle and Sebastian Dowling.
They are both 16, born in Deceber 2006, just two months before their on-screen alter egos.
They’ve played Cathy and Heath since they were tiny babies back in 2007, and are still portraying the Hope siblings.
Their mum, Louise, signed them up for the show when she was pregnant.
As a former professional dancer, she knew what was involved in the showbiz life, and thought it would be a great opportunity for her tots.
But as the babies weren’t on permanent contract at first, they had no idea that 15 years later the kids would still be starring in the show!
During lockdown and the coronavirus pandemic, some of Emmerdale’s younger actors stopped filming for a while.
And when Cathy and Heath returned to our screens, viewers were astonished to see how grown up they looked!
Cathy and Heath in Emmerdale and their dramatic arrival
Bob and Viv were married with several children between them when Viv found out she was expecting.
They’d wanted a baby so Viv was overjoyed. But Bob wasn’t thrilled at the idea of adding to his brood, especially as he was still grieving for his daughter Dawn Woods, who’d been killed in a tragic accident.
He wanted Viv to terminate her pregnancy but changed his mind and when she went to have the abortion, he stopped her.
Cathy and Heath were born in typical soapy dramatic fashion, when Viv unexpectedly went into labour on the moors.
Luckily, Paddy Kirk was on hand to deliver the babies – even though he’s more used to delivering lambs and calves!
They were named Catherine and Heathcliffe after the heroine and hero of Wuthering Heights and are now known as Cathy and Heath.
What happened to Cathy and Heath’s mum?
Viv was devoted to her children, but when they were still very small, she got involved with a dodgy charity scheme and ended up in prison for fraud – even though she’d been conned herself.
When she was released, she was heartbroken when the twins didn’t recognise her at first.
In 2011, Viv was inside the post office in the village with Cathy and Heath, when it was set on fire by Emmerdale villain Nick Henshall.
Bob went inside the burning building and managed to rescue the children.
Brave Terry Woods – who’d been married to the twins’ big sister Dawn – went into the flames to try to get Viv, but both he and Viv died.
The twins and Brenda
When Bob got together with Brenda Walker, she took them under her wing and they grew very close to her.
But when Bob and Brenda got married – despite Bob cheating – and then quickly broke up, the twins were upset.
They began causing some trouble and even set fire to their dad’s belongings. But they calmed down when Bob allowed them to move back in with Brenda.
Did Cathy and Heath bully April?
In 2021 April was being bullied online.
Cathy and Heath were trying to support her.
However April was horrified when she found out the person who started the trolling was Cathy.
Heath had no involvement and was disgusted by his sister’s actions.
Cathy in ‘never been done before’ storyline
Lately it’s become clear there’s something troubling Cathy.
Show boss Jane Hudson revealed late last year the storyline would be something soaps haven’t covered before.
Cathy is lashing out angrily and says she doesn’t know why and can’t control it.
But when she runs out of her exam and goes missing, Bernice finds her washing her skirt.
Cathy opens up about her heavy periods and how bad things have got.
Bernice is sympathetic and encourages Cathy to speak to the doctor.
When Cathy is put on the pill by Manpreet, she is relieved to finally have got the help she needs.
But will this be an end to her nightmare?
Read more: Who is in the cast of Emmerdale 2022? Meet this year’s full line-up
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.
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