 Writer Colin Brake has revealed that this liaison had first been suggested by the "EastEnders" script department three years prior, in 1990, but the idea had been rejected in favour of Kathy getting involved with pub landlord Eddie Royle (Michael Melia).Despite various obstacles, including objection from Kathy's son Ian (Adam Woodyatt), and the public unveiling of Phil's prior affair with his sister-in-law Sharon (Letitia Dean), Phil and Kathy married in 1995 and a baby was written into their narratives the following year; Kathy becoming a mother again for the third time at the age of 46.The storyline was used to spread a public message, when Kathy's baby son Ben contracted a rare form of meningitis, leaving him with impaired hearing and the threat of brain damage.