Broadcasting
Actress Roberta Taylor dies aged 76
She was best known for her roles as Irene Raymond in EastEnders, and Inspector Gina Gold in The Bill.
Actress Roberta Taylor has died at the age of 76.
Roberta played matriarch Irene Raymond in the BBC One soap EastEnders from 1997 to 2000, then took on the role of tough inspector Gina Gold in Thames Television’s The Bill from 2002 to 2008.
The actress, who was a heavy smoker, battled with emphysema. She passed away on July 6th due to an infection resulting from a fall two months earlier, which worsened her existing health issues including pneumonia, according to The Guardian.
She leaves behind her actor husband Peter Guinness, her son Elliott, a granddaughter and two stepbrothers.
Roberta was born in Plaistow, east London, and grew up on the Isle of Dogs. She initially trained to be a dental nurse while also taking drama classes. In 1966 she married her first husband Victor, a ropemaker, while expecting their son Elliot.
She got into drama school in 1973 and after graduating, starred in a number of plays, including Noel Coward’s Private Lives, Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband and Brecht’s Mother Courage. Her first marriage ended in 1975, and she later married Peter Guinness in 1996, known for his roles in Jack Ryan, Merlin, Official Secrets, and Alien 3.
Roberta made her television debut in 1979 in Granada Television’s Crown Court and went on to have roles in shows such as Inspector Morse, Silent Witness and Doctors, and also acted in films including The Witches and Tom and Viv.
Her last TV credit was an episode of the private investigator’s comedy Shakespeare & Hathaway in 2020. She will, however, be best remembered for her roles in EastEnders and The Bill.
Irene came to Walford in 1997 to reconcile with her children Tony (Mark Homer) and Sarah (Daniela Denby-Ashe), whom she had left years ago. She blamed her departure on the stress of being married to their father, and eventually managed to win them over.
Irene went on to find love with Terry Raymond (Gavin Richards), but she was never quite satisfied with him. Their marriage problems were exacerbated by her struggles to navigate the menopause and, in 1999, she found herself having an affair with their young lodger, Troy (Jamie Jarvis).
In August 2000, Irene left Terry while they were on holiday in Spain. She drove off into the sunset in a jeep that Terry had purchased for her, to test whether she would stay or leave him. Taylor had decided to leave the soap to explore other acting opportunities and have a rest following its demanding schedules.
In July 2002, the actress made her debut as inspector Gina Gold in The Bill, known for her hard-drinking, plain-speaking ways.
During her time with the police saga, she wrote two books. The first, Too Many Mothers, A Memoir To An EastEnd Childhood, became a top ten best seller when it was released in 2005.
