She forms a relationship with local doctor Nate Cooper (Kyle Pryor), which is tested a number of times.

The character's background was explored further with the introduction of her abusive former fiancé Dylan Carter (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor), who arrived in the Bay to lead the investigation into Charlotte's murder.

On 4 August 2014, Luke Dennehy of the Herald Sun reported actress and model Pia Miller had joined the regular cast of Home and Away as Katarina.

[5]Ahead of her introduction, Jonathon Moran of The Daily Telegraph described Kat as "a tough and resilient police officer driven by success in her work life.

[6] Brax's friend Martin "Ash" Ashford (George Mason) confronts Kat with a theory that Dean was murdered by Sam Kennedy (Wade Briggs).

[3] A few weeks later Kat befriends local doctor Nate Cooper (Kyle Pryor), who is ready to move on from his failed marriage to Sophie Taylor (Bridgette Sneddon).

"[10] Kat agrees to go on a date with Nate, and she takes the opportunity to learn more about his former relationship with Bay resident Ricky Sharpe (Bonnie Sveen).

[12] Miller commented that Kat has fun with Chris, while Stephen Downie of TV Week pointed out that she has more in common with Nate.

[12] In June 2015, series producer Lucy Addario revealed that Kat would eventually open up to Nate about her past and her history would explain why she acts the way she does.

Addario also revealed that Billie Ashford's (Tessa de Josselin) crush on Nate would test his relationship with Kat.

[15] Kat initially wants to support Nate and believes Billie is lying, but she also has a duty as a police officer to take such accusations seriously.

Billie continues to stare out to sea, until she is startled by Kat's radio and fearing that she is about to be arrested, she moves closer to the edge of the cliff.

[24] In early August 2015, Stephen Downie of TV Week reported that a character would be shot in an upcoming siege storyline and left fighting for their life.

Kat was named as one of four potential victims, along with Josh Barrett (Jackson Gallagher), Evelyn MacGuire (Philippa Northeast), and Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons).

[27] Days later, Kat finds Charlotte's son Hunter (Scott Lee) by the roadside, after he has been kidnapped and drugged on Trystan's orders.

"[30] Kat accesses Charlotte's apartment and finds a travel itinerary for her friend Denny Miller (Jessica Grace Smith), who left the Bay.

[35] Miller told Downie (TV Week) "In the back of her mind, Kat feels it's her obligation as a resident of Summer Bay.

[38] Of their relationship, Lindsay Taylor stated "One of the problems when they were engaged was that Kat has a lot of male friends and he can't deal with that really because of his own insecurities.

"[40] Kat and Ash soon discover that Dylan paid an ex-con to trash the garage, and that he blackmailed the judge in Zac MacGuire's (Charlie Clausen) trial for Charlotte's murder.

They agree that they cannot start a relationship until they speak with Ash's former partner and Kat's friend, Phoebe Nicholson (Isabella Giovinazzo).

[46] Kat begins working longer hours in order to bring down a drug dealer and gain a promotion, forcing Ash to care for Luc on his own.

"[47] Kat leaves their home and Ash turns to their mutual friend Tori Morgan (Penny McNamee) for support.

[48] On-screen, Kat discovers that Ash knew Andy Barrett (Tai Hara) was rebirthing cars at the garage.

[44] Mason told Ali Cromarty from TV Week that Ash is worried about her state of mind and did not realise how much the cover up was affecting her.

[44] Phoebe persuades Brody Morgan (Jackson Heywood) to give Kat a waitressing job at his restaurant Salt.

[49] Nearing the end of her shift, Kat is approached by a customer, Jeremy Glanville (Adam Franklin), who asks her to have a drink with him.

[53] Ahead of Kat's introduction, Stephen Downie of TV Week commented, "The people of Summer Bay won't want to mess with this tough chick.

"[3] Of Kat and Nate, Tess Lamacraft of the South Wales Echo observed "the smitten pair can't keep their hands off each other".

[56] Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy included Miller in her feature about people who reinvented themselves by appearing in a soap.

Dainty stated, "Policewoman Kat Chapman is strong, intelligent and about to crack Charlotte's murder, throwing any model stereotypes well and truly out the window.