Martha Kane is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Carli Norris.
The character was introduced as the mother of Ash (Holly Weston), Callum (Laurie Duncan) and Lacey Kane (Georgia Bourke).
In January 2012, the serial's producer Emma Smithwick said that she wanted to explore Ash (Holly Weston) and Callum Kane's (Laurie Duncan) backstories.
Not the most conventional of mums, she can often be found accompanying (an unwilling) Ash on a night out... she even danced on the bar at the Spring Fling!
There's a dark side to Martha's party animal ways though.Martha is immature for her age but tries to do the right thing for her children.
Norris believes that Martha is "very immauture" because she became pregnant with Ash at a young age, subsequently losing her own childhood.
Some were shared with Diane O'Connor (Alex Fletcher) and Myra McQueen (Nicole Barber-Lane) and Norris claimed that fans pestered her wanting more scenes featuring the trio.
Weston told Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy that the storyline shows that Martha is "not quite the good mum that she pretends to be".
[6] Norris told Alison Slade from TVTimes that Martha "would die for her children" but she still behaves like a child herself.
Bourke added that Martha's actions bring Lacey to the realisation of what her mother is "capable of and that her drink problem is worse than she thought".
Norris told a writer from Inside Soap that her character is in "terrible denial [because] she doesn't think that she drinks too much".
[9] In July 2012, Norris appeared on The Wright Stuff, explaining that she researched the storyline during filming with help from Hollyoaks bosses.
[12] The storyline saw Martha arriving at their memorial service drunk and accuses Ash's boyfriend Will Savage (James Atherton) of killing her.
[13] When Leah Barnes (Ela-May Demircan) hands Martha a necklace belonging to the deceased Anna Savage (Saskia Wickham) she questions how she came to be in its possession.
[14] Atherton told Digital Spy's Kilkelly that Martha begins to uncover the truth that he murdered Anna and Texas Longford (Bianca Hendrickse-Spendlove).
[16] The show aired the Martha's final scenes on 8 November 2013, when she leaves to stay with her sister and Lacey.
[17] Norris told Kilkelly that "I was originally only meant to be in Hollyoaks for a few episodes, so to be asked to stay for two years was a blessing."
She assumes that he spent the night with Maddie Morrison (Scarlett Bowman) when he was actually helping homeless George Smith (Steven Roberts) out.
When her boyfriend cancels their date Martha get drunk and ignores Lacey, who decides to pour her wine down the drain.
Will, worrying that his crimes will be exposed holds his family hostage with a shotgun at Anna's house, including Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) who was holding Tom Cunningham (Ellis Hollins) hostage, Martha is also taken hostage by Will and when he tells her she can go he shoots her, however, Martha was only wounded and alerts the police which brings about Will's downfall as he and his brother Dodger Savage (Danny Mac) fight on the roof of the house and both fall from the roof, Dodger is unharmed but Will is paralysed from the fall and is arrested.
Martha decides there is nothing to stay in Hollyoaks for and after saying goodbye to the Savages she leaves the village to go and live with her sister and Lacey.
The writer concluded that Martha would not solve her problems because "it'll be left to Callum to pick up the pieces while she drowns her sorrows in another bottle of cheap plonk!
The writer was unsurprised that "troubled Martha" cannot resist a drink and falls "off the wagon big time".
"[20] A writer from the Metro said that Martha had a "gentle exit" which was a "more low-key fashion" than the more dramatic departures Hollyoaks had been airing in 2013.