Keith Carroway is a former actor. He worked with Professor Van Ark after the start of the apocalypse. Also worked with Paula where they played a computer game together called Starfish Quest. Married to Manisha, he currently lives at Utopia Labs.
History[]
Pre-apocalypse[]
Keith was an actor who played a few minor roles, but mostly starred on celebrity-based reality shows.[1]
Keith once severely beat a coatroom attendant while under the influence of cocaine, breaking several of the attendant's bones. Footage of this incident was leaked by Callum Donaldson.[1] This actually worked out well for Keith, as he started being offered "tough guy" roles.[2]
Keith was later interviewed by Callum, ostensibly to talk about his drug rehabilitation. But unbeknownst to Keith, Callum was actually planning to goad Keith into attacking him so that Callum would have another scandal to write about. During the interview, zombies broke down the door, and Keith, Callum, and Manisha had to flee for their lives.[1]
The Way of All Flesh[]
Keith, Manisha, and Callum arrive at Gadsen Manor. Keith thinks he hears a zombie behind a door and shoves his way through it, spraying Mace at the supposed zombie. However, it was actually Chris McShell who had just arrived with Jody Marsh. Manisha helps Chris wash his eyes out, but Chris is still left temporarily blinded by the Mace. Four more people soon arrive: Rose, Geri Kim, and Professor Walter Huebner, who manage to make it inside the manor, along with Sheila, who takes shelter in a treehouse outside. Everyone introduces themselves and sit down to eat, when they hear the doorbell ringing. They all go to check the door, but nobody is there - only the zombies crowded at the fence. They return to the dining room. Callum begins eating his stew, but suddenly starts coughing and collapses onto the table. Manisha checks him and announces that Callum is dead.[1]
Keith panics at Callum's death, convinced he's going to reanimate as a zombie. The others point out that Callum died from poisoning, not a zombie bite. The group splits up to investigate the manor. Keith nervously accompanies the Prof to the east wing, where they find a satchel containing a laptop and Callum's ID. The investigations are interrupted when Sheila screams for help outside. Jody lures the zombies away from the tree house so Sheila can climb down. Keith and Geri use rifles to kill off some of the zombies, although Keith's aim is not very good. Jody and Sheila both make it safely inside the manor, but now the zombies have breached the fence.[3]
Keith helps the others to fortify the doors and windows of the building. He's still freaking out over the situation, but he's cheered up when Sheila recognizes him from one of his shows. Later, the group checks out the laptop that the found earlier, but the hard drive has failed. Geri pulls out Callum's cell phone that she found earlier and they listen to the voicemails. One of them is from Manisha, in which she calls herself a murderer. Keith angrily accuses Manisha of killing Callum, but she insists that it wasn't her. She explains how she met Callum after he slept with her wife. When she confronted him about it, he was very honest with her and the two of them bonded over it. During that conversation, Callum told her about his estranged sister who was in jail. Keith accepts Manisha's story and offers to make her some cocoa.[4]
As Keith is trying to make some cocoa, zombies begin breaking through the kitchen windows. Keith screams, which gets the attention of the others. The group manages to fight off the zombies, but they have to abandon and barricade the kitchen. Keith, Manisha, Sheila, Geri, and the Prof get to work ripping up the floorboards for materials.[5]
Rose is found strangled to death the next morning. With the knowledge that a murderer is still among them and with the zombie horde outside growing by the hour, the group decides to search the manor again for any weapons or safe rooms. Keith and Manisha find a conservatory upstairs. Keith notices something strange about it though: there shouldn't be a room in this location on the ground floor. Keith and Manisha talk for a moment, then Manisha admits she's attracted to him and asks if he wants to have sex with her. He does. And they do. Afterwards, Keith tells Manisha that he's been in love with her for months. When he asks if she feels anything for him, she dodges the question and says they should go tell the others about the potential hidden room downstairs. In the storeroom, Keith finds a switch disguised as a bottle of secret sauce. He pulls it, and the wall swings open to reveal a control room. Inside are camera feeds from all over the manor. On one screen, they see the Prof outside the fence, leaving. He's somehow found a way out and made it past the horde. On another camera they see that zombies have breached the manor. Sheila hits a button that activates the fire doors and buys them some time. Everyone flees upstairs. Keith takes an axe and begins destroying the stairs behind them.[6]
Chris gathers everyone together to go over the evidence once more. Then he announces his conclusion: Sheila is the killer. Sheila admits to it and explains her motivations and methods. With the murder mystery solved, the group turns to their next problem: the zombie horde surrounding the manor. Sheila offers to be a sacrifice. They lower her down to the ground floor and she uses a noisemaker to draw the zombies away, allowing the others to slip through the fence safely. Manisha finds a note from the Prof inviting her to join him at his labs. Manisha seems interested, but Keith tries to convince her to go to a cottage his friend had in Cornwall. Neither of them want to separate, so they decide to walk together to the next crossroads and then flip a coin to determine their destination.[2]
Appearances[]
Quotes[]
Keith: "You don’t recognize me? [...] I… I’m Keith Carroway. Keith Carroway?"
Manisha: "He likes it if you pretend to recognize him."[1]
Keith, trying to shoot zombies: "[gunshot] Ah! [gunshot] No! [gunshot] Almost. [gunshot] No! [gunshot] Come on! [gunshot] Yes! Ha, I got one! Yeah! [laughs] That’s more satisfying than when I beat The Rock at Celebrity Bowls."[3]
Sheila: "Wait. Aren’t you Keith Carroway, off of Who Will Be The Next Celebrity Windsurfing Champion? I loved you in that."
Keith: "Yes! Yes, I am! Oh, we had such a laugh making that program, and near here, actually. Brightwater Lake, gorgeous place. And the crew were just so kind - "[4]
Keith: "Me, Manisha, and Callum were once trapped like this. Except much worse, because we were in this house in Rickmansworth, and all we had to drink was a bath full of water with dog’s hair in. Oh my God, it was gross. We had to filter it through this old lady’s tights - "[4]
Keith: "I love you, Nish. I’ve been in love with you for months. Oh God, it feels good to have said that. Honestly, I’ve been holding that in since before Rotherham. Do you remember that night we fought off the zombies and that pack of wild dogs? I mean, you were fighting in your tank top and your pajama bottoms, your skin was glowing, there was this sheen, and you – and I thought – I mean, that is the most amazing woman in the world. I love you. I do."[6]