Inside Kay Mellor’s relationship with soap star daughter Gaynor Faye who quit Emmerdale for her
KAY Mellor and Gaynor Faye achieved what very few mothers and daughters get to do and work together.
Actress Gaynor, 50, even stepped down from Emmerdale in 2019 to fulfil a promise to act out one of her mum’s scripts.
Screenwriter Kay, best known for writing series including Fat Friends, The Syndicate and Band of Gold, sadly passed away on Sunday at the age of 71.
A spokesperson from Rollem Productions said: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the untimely and sudden passing of our beloved friend, mentor and colleague Kay Mellor on Sunday, May 15.
“We have lost a phenomenal talent and a true luminary. We ask that you please respect the privacy of the family and friends at this time.”
Gaynor appeared in a number of the TV show’s written and created by her talented mum – including BBC drama Playing the Field and hugely popular ITV series Fat Friends.
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Kay’s daughters, Yvonne Francas and Gaynor, are notable actresses and producers.
Gaynor, who is the daughter of Kay and her husband Anthony Mellor, began her acting career in TV shows written by her mum.
But Gaynor, who played Lauren Harris in Fat Friends, vowed to never star in one of her mum’s TV show’s again.
“I love everything my mum does. She writes brilliant dialogue and great characters, especially strong women,” she told The Mirror in 2014.
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“But I’ve been in her stuff and I’ve made a conscious decision I wasn’t going to do any more.
“I made it as an actress in my own right and I didn’t want anyone thinking that I just did her stuff.
“Then Emmerdale came along and it’s been fantastic from day one.”
Gaynor is best known for playing Judy Mallett in Coronation Street from 1995 to 1999 and in 2011 landed the role of Megan Macey in Emmerdale.
Following in her mother’s footsteps, Gaynor was a teenager when she started editing Kay’s scripts and wrote two episodes of Fat Friends.
“It has its moments. You have to go in there with a different head on,” explained Gaynor.
“We work well together because we can cut through the flowery behaviour and be very direct. I know her voice really well and where she’s coming from
“We don’t take offence easily but I’m truthful and sometimes that is met with a sharp look or word, which is fair enough. She understands I have her best interests at heart.”
Gaynor went onto quit Emmerdale as she had promised her mum she’d appear in the stage version of her drama, Band of Gold.
“I was working on Emmerdale at the time and got involved in workshopping Band of Gold and people just loved it… absolutely loved it,” Gaynor revealed
“Then I got asked if I would be in it, but I was still in Emmerdale, so then I had to make the choice whether or not I was going to leave Emmerdale or not. That was a big choice to make.
“She [Kaye] really wanted me in it. She really liked my version of Rose so, for her, she really wanted me to do it. But it was a big decision I had to make and I didn’t make it lightly.”
But Gaynor went onto star as Cheryl Armitage in the fourth series of BBC’s The Syndicate last year, about a group of colleagues who jointly win the lottery.
Opening up about the decision to return to her mum’s show, Gaynor said: “So it was one of the things, I suppose she asked me if I would play the character and I didn’t want to slip back into that old, boring, ‘You’re only doing it because your mum has written it,’ the nepotism thing.
“But I thought, ‘I haven’t been in her world for 13 years and I’m available and I’m an out of work actress, and the character is there.
“She’s a great character and I thought, ‘Am I going to sit there and watch someone else do it? No, I’m going to do it.’
“I did the usual, I auditioned and did my self-tape and the BBC said yes.”
Gaynor also appeared on Dancing on Ice in 2006, was a guest Loose Women panellist in 2010 and a Lorraine guest host in 2011.
Kay’s legacy led to her being appointed an OBE in 2009 and becoming a Fellow of the Royal Television Society in 2016.
She was also awarded the Bafta Dennis Potter award in 1997 for Outstanding Writing for Television.
Kay started writing for Granada TV in the 1980s on Coronation Street, and she also wrote seven episodes for Channel 4’s Brookside in 1989.
One of Kay’s hit shows was ITV’s Girlfriends, starring Zoe Wanamaker, which she wrote and directed.
She also wrote Band of Gold (1995), Playing the Field (1998) for BBC One, Fat Friends (2000) and Between the Sheets (2003).
In 2012 she wrote another BBC drama, The Syndicate, which returned for a second series in 2013 and a third series in 2015 – the show returned again 2021.
She also created award-winning children’s drama Children’s Ward.
Kay also acted herself, appearing in her own adaptation of Jane Eyre back in 1997, as well as 2002 comedy drama Stan The Man.
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