costigan

ELIZABETH COSTIGAN

Betty Costigan manages a cafe and before her husband died a few years ago they were all set to buy the operation. Her dream crumbled and now she just goes from day-to-day. A dependent type of personality she has kept her son Tim close to home and clearly doesn't function well on her own. Has her neediness already got her into trouble?

TIM COSTIGAN

Like Betty, Tim's life crashed around him when his father died. Originally going to take up a job offer in Miami, Florida all his plans changed and he now lives at home. He is hoping that the arrival of his cousin CHLOE BARNABY will take some of the pressure off him and allow him some freedom. Whilst he loves his mother he is finding it increasingly difficult as time passes to deal with her dependency on him.

BRIAN McBRIDE

An accomplished musical theatre performer as well as versatile screen actor Brian is happy in either medium. He is certainly up for the challenges of playing Tim. "You never know where the writers will take your character on a soap" says Brian "but spending time in idyllic Parkside will be fun!".

KAREN AUSTIN

Karen is delighted with the opportunity to bring Betty Costigan to life in "Relationships". Her first stage appearance, as The King in the Gingerbread Boy was in a community hall in Churchill Manitoba. The audience laughed on her first line and so began her love affair with the stage. Having gained a BA in Drama from the University of Alberta she got her first gig as an apprentice with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Karen can claim to have acted on stage in every Province in Canada as well as Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park. She has now acted in film, television and radio as well as theatre but you get the feeling that the stage will always be her first love. It was whilst touring with the Citadel on wheels that she had possibly her most scariest moment when the plane circling Pelly Bay (in the Arctic Circle) for landing couldn't drop its landing gear and the pilot eventually had to shoot it down with a rifle. She carried the cartridge case around for years for good luck!

To name all the roles and guest spots in series would take too long but sci-fi fans may recognise her from various shows including the new Battlestar Gallatica spin-off Caprica as Ruth.