As the BBC soap opera celebrates its 40th year, Kathy Beale actor Gillian Taylforth has revealed her long-running EastEnders character and her time on the show.
Long-running EastEnders star Gillian Taylforth says she wishes she was more feisty and fearless like her iconic soap character Kathy Beale. The actress has been a part of the BBC show since its first episode, firmly establishing herself as fans favourite thanks to her character’s no nonsense attitude.
Gillian, 69, claims that there are others who are utterly different from her, just as she claims some things about her voice are indistinguishable. “Sometimes, I wish I was a little bit more like Kathy because she has a lot of opinions,” Gillian says. She is strong-minded, which I don’t have strong feelings for, and I adore that.
We both agree that she also has a great sense of humor. People yell “Kathy!” when I’m out and about. at me . And as soon as I speak, people know it’s me because they’ve heard it from the deep voice, which I don’t even know.
As the show celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, so does Gillian, as one of the few stars to have survived four decades. She returned to the show in 2015 after being presumed dead since 2006, making a surprise appearance in a live episode celebrating the show’s 30th anniversary.
She came back full time and reunited with her on-screen son Ian Beale, played by Adam Woodyatt, 56. Opening up on their tearful reunion and unbreakable bond, Gillian says they are like mum and son off set as well as on.
She said, “I have amazing relationships with everyone at EastEnders, but Adam has something special going for him.” He has been my son for 40 years, and he never refers to me as “Son” even when we aren’t on set.
He will say the lines if he notices that I’ve forgotten them to remind me because we share a close relationship. There were tears all over when Kathy and I reunited and shared a magical moment.
Her co-stars also love Gillian, who claims to be the life and soul of the party on set, and she is a much-loved fan favorite. I’m known as Jukebox Gilly at work because I’m always singing along! she stated.
During her 10 year break from EastEnders, mum-of-two Gillian explored other telly projects, appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, Footballers’ Wives and Hollyoaks. But she says none compared to Albert Square.
She beamed, “EastEnders has always been my favorite place to work.” “I adored The Bill, Footballers’ Wives, and Hollyoaks. I had the opportunity to work on plays, a musical, and other wonderful things. However, I have always loved EastEnders because of how I came to be who I am.
Kathy, a wonderful character, has always been a big part of me. So when Kathy was invited back to my life to celebrate her 30th birthday, I was thrilled to have her.
Gillian has appeared in some of EastEnders’ most well-known storylines. Gillian recalls how the 1988 episodes of rape had a significant impact on Kathy and how it affected her. Kathy’s rape in 1988 was a storyline that really stuck with me. James Willmott-Brown, a bar owner, raped Kathy, who was played by William Boyde.
“That was incredibly dark. Every night after going home, I had to sort through the material and figure out exactly how I would play each moment, but because of how terrible of a subject it is to be, you want to forget about it right away.
“But I wanted to do that storyline justice, and it was a great honor to be trusted with it.” I was aware that many girls who needed it because of how many of them wrote in to let me know what had happened.
Read the full interview in the August issue of Prima today.
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Source: Mirror
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