EastEnders star Roberta Taylor has died at the age of 76, according to reports.
The actress, best known for playing Irene Raymond in the BBC soap from 1997 to 2000, joined the cast of ITV’s The Bill as Inspector Gina Gold.
Taylor’s obituary in The Guardian on Tuesday said she died on July 6 from an infection caused by a fall two months prior, agitating her underlying health problems with pneumonia.
She leaves behind her actor husband Peter Guinness, her son Elliott, a granddaughter and two stepbrothers.
Her last major TV appearance came on the private investigators comedy Shakespeare & Hathaway.
Her stint in fictional began in 1997 when she arrived as the matriarch of the Hills family, visiting her children Sarah (Daniela Denby-Ashe) and Tony (Mark Homer).
Over the three years on the soap, Taylor’s character Irene had a string of love interests, including Terry Raymond (Gavin Richards), as well as a steamy affair with her lodger Troy Harvey (Jamie Jarvis).
Describing her exit, she told the Mirror at the time: “I was always thinking, ‘When can I learn my lines’ I gave over much of my life to the show and if I was to carry on at such a pace I’d have to continue to put my life on hold.
“I didn’t want to do things at half-cock [...] I had a lot of fun playing Irene, and Gavin, who plays my screen husband Terry, and I got on brilliantly.
“Irene was a complicated lady. I never knew what was going to happen next, but that's what life is like. We worked hard at our characters.
Heartbroken to hear about the passing of Roberta Taylor, loved by millions as Irene Raymond in #EastEnders, Inspector Gina Gold in The Bill plus much more. Sending all our love to her family and friends at this tragic time. pic.twitter.com/v5fFwGWPrI
— Walford East (@WalfordEast) July 23, 2024
“People thought we were comical but actually there was a lot of sarcasm.”
Taylor also had roles on Silent Witness, Inspector Morse, Doctors and Luther.
She grew up on the Isle of Dogs and originally trained to be a dental nurse whilst taking drama classes.
Taylor married Victor in 1966, with whom she had a son Elliott.
After graduating from drama school, she starred in a number of plays, including Noel Coward's Private Lives, Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband and Brecht's Mother Courage.
She divorced her first husband in 1975 before marrying Peter, best known for his roles in Jack Ryan, Merlin, Official Secrets and Alien 3, in 1996.
