Roberta Taylor, who had roles in The Bill and EastEnders, has died aged 76.
Taylor had emphysema, and a fall two months ago worsened her underlying ill health with pneumonia.
She played the role of matriarchal Irene Raymond in EastEnders from 1997-2000 and took on the character Inspector Gina Gold in The Bill.
Her most recent major TV series was Shakespeare & Hathaway in 2022.
Taylor was born in Plaistow, East London, and was raised by her mother Winifred Roberts, grandma and aunties.
She maintains that the women who surrounded her made her the woman she was, and they could have influenced the strong women she portrayed on-screen.
Taylor began her career as a dental nurse but continued to take drama classes in her spare time.
She married ropemaker Victor Taylor in 1966, and the couple had son, Elliott, in the same year.
In 1973, a friend advised her to try out for drama school, and she was successful. She auditioned on the same day as Peter Guinness, who would eventually become her second husband.
She is survived by Guinness, Elliott, granddaughter, Ellis, and two stepbrothers, Brian and Lionel.
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