Karen Buckley

Karen Buckley first arrived in Skelthwaite in the year 2000, she had received a call from her best friend Anna Kirkwall to take a nurse's job at the medical centre. Peggy Snow had recently left the medical centre (and since died) and Anna had became the Sister of the centre. Karen was to come in and take over the vacancy. They had been best friends back in Barnsley, however when Karen arrived she wasn't impressed and decided not to take the job. However, she did stay and help with the catering for Peggy's funeral which was happening the next day.

When the following day came, Karen changed her mind because she saw how close-knit the community was and felt that she and her family could settle in the town. She brought her husband David and step-daughter Jess with her to stay in Skelthwaite. Anna also managed to get David a job at the factory. Karen settled in well but clashed with Jacqui Richards at the medical centre but eventually they managed to get along.

It was revealed that Karen was holding a dark secret in that she used to be a prostitute in London when she was 15 and she had a child that she gave up for adoption. The whole of Skelthwaite later found out about this and patients refused to be treated by her. However, eventually everything went back to normal.

In 2003, her long-lost son contacted her and she met up with him but didn't tell David or Jess. When she eventually told David, he wasn't impressed with him and took a dislike to him. Karen later found out that he was a smack addict and she vowed to get him off drugs and even followed him down to London to try and win him back. She eventually found him and she returned to Skelthwaite to tell David that she was leaving because she had to get her son better. And just like that, she drove off, never to be seen again.