Roberta Alexandra Mary Taylor (néeRoberts;[1] 26 February 1948 – 6 July 2024) was an English actress and author. She was known for her roles of Irene Raymond in EastEnders (1997–2000) and Inspector Gina Gold in The Bill (2002–2008).
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]
Personal life and death
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 actor Peter 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 of The Bill as her character’s lover in 2007.[13]
Taylor died of pneumonia following a fall, on 6 July 2024, at the age of 76. Taylor had suffered from emphysema due to being a "dedicated smoker".[14]
