Roberta Taylor | |
|---|---|
 Taylor asIrene Raymond inEastEnders | |
| Born | Roberta Alexandra Mary Roberts (1948-02-26)26 February 1948 West Ham, Essex, England |
| Died | 6 July 2024(2024-07-06) (aged 76) London, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1972–2024 |
| Television | EastEnders (1997–2000) The Bill (2002-2008) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Roberta Alexandra Mary Taylor (née Roberts;[1] 26 February 1948 – 6 July 2024) was an English actress and author. She was known for her roles ofIrene Raymond inEastEnders (1997–2000) andInspector Gina Gold inThe Bill (2002–2008).
Taylor worked in the theatre and appeared at theGlasgow Citizens Theatre from 1980 to 1992.[2] During that period, she played La Duchesse de Guermantes in a stage adaptation ofMarcel Proust'sA la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past) entitledA Waste of Time, in whichRupert Everett andGary Oldman were also in the cast. She was also seen inNoël Coward'sDesign for Living,Oscar Wilde'sA Woman of No Importance andAn Ideal Husband. She was the Princess Kosmonopolis inTennessee Williams'Sweet Bird of Youth in 1992, and in 1995 played the Nurse inShakespeare'sRomeo and Juliet at theLyric Hammersmith.[3]
She also appeared in episodes of the television seriesDoctors,Sharman,Holby City,Silent Witness, Shakespeare and Hathaway andInspector Morse. She has appeared as a guest onThe Paul O'Grady Show and in the filmsThe Witches (1990) andTom & Viv (1994).[4] She has also appeared as herself onLily Savage's Blankety Blank.[5]
In 2005 she played Mrs Pardiggle in theBBC's drama serial adaptation ofCharles Dickens'Bleak House.[6] In 2009, she starred as the long-suffering Phoebe Rice inJohn Osborne's playThe Entertainer at theRoyal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. In 2011 she appeared in the West End revival ofPygmalion, alongsideRupert Everett,Kara Tointon andDiana Rigg.[7] In September 2017, Taylor made a guest appearance inCasualty.[8]
Alongside her acting career, Taylor was an author. Her first book,Too Many Mothers, a memoir of her childhood, was published in October 2005. She was criticised by two cousins for some of the content in the book, with one of the cousins claiming that she was "too flippant about traumatic events in his difficult past". She refused to remove any of the content prior to publication, and later walked away from one of them at a book signing.[9] Her first novel,The Reinvention of Ivy Brown, was published in November 2008.[10]
Born out of wedlock to Robert Alexander Archer, an already married bus conductor, Taylor was brought up by her mother Winifred Roberts, aunts, and grandmother.[9][4][11]
She married Victor Taylor on 1 April 1966.[12][1] The couple had a son but divorced in 1975.[13] Taylor met actorPeter Guinness while working with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. They married in September 1996 after having been together for twenty years. Guinness appeared in a few episodes ofThe Bill as her character’s lover in 2007.[13]
Taylor died ofpneumonia following a fall, on 6 July 2024, at the age of 76. Taylor had suffered fromemphysema due to being a "dedicated smoker".[14]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
