Kathy Staff (12th July 1928 - 13th December 2008) was a British actress best known for her role as Nora Batty on the long-running BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine from 1973 to 2001, and again from 2002 to her death in 2008. She has also enjoyed long stints on the ITV soap opera Crossroads, as Doris Luke, from 1978 to 1985, and from 2001 to 2002, and as Mrs. Blewitt on Open All Hours between 1976 and 1981.
Kathy played four different roles on Coronation Street:
- A Customer in Frank Barlow's DIY Shop in November 1963 (however she was uncredited in this role)
- Mrs Thacker in both January and October 1968
- Mrs Helliwell, one of four applicants for the role of Community Centre caretaker in May 1971
- Vera Hopkins from September 1973 to February 1975 - a role she quit to concentrate on Last of the Summer Wine.
Prior to these parts, she appeared in the early 1960s as an extra on the programme. Kathy was something of a soap opera stalwart, having also appeared in episodes of Emmerdale Farm and Doctors.