Who is EastEnders star Gillian Taylforth and is she married?

KATHY Beale was recently seen walking down the aisle with Rocky Cotton but their nuptials didn’t go as planned.

EastEnders icon Gillian Taylforth slipped into a wedding dress for the needs of the soap. But who is she and is she married off-screen?

BBC

Kathy Beale tied the knot with Rocky Cotton[/caption]

Who is EastEnders star Gillian Taylforth?

BBC One viewers were stunned to see Kathy get ready for her fourth wedding as she agreed to tie the knot with former con man Rocky Cotton.

But in a shocking twist, the lovebirds had to face Rocky’s estranged wife Jo as she revealed they weren’t actually divorced and claimed he’d be committing bigamy if he married Kathy.

Drama continues to unfold on our screens with Gillian Taylforth in the spotlight, as she’s grown accustomed to the brutal ups and downs of life in Walford.

Hailing from Islington in London, the 67-year-old actress – who is the sister of fellow star Kim Taylforth – has been a part of the London-based program since its very beginning.

Known as one of the Square’s main stalwarts, Gillian appeared in the show’s first ever episode on February 19, 1985.

She appeared regularly in the soap throughout her character’s first marriage to Pete Beale and second union to Walford tough man Phil Mitchell.

However, in the early noughties, Kathy found refuge from life in the Square in South Africa, where she married a man named Gavin Sullivan.

Gillian Taylforth was seemingly written out of the show permanently in 2006 when her on-screen alter ego reportedly died in a car crash.

During her time away from EastEnders, Gillian appeared in several other popular shows in the likes of Footballers’ Wives and The Bill.

In 2008, she had her first stint in reality TV, taking part in Strictly Come Dancing as a celebrity contestant.

Five years later, Gillian turned to Celebrity Big Brother before eventually returning to soapland by accepting the role of Sandy Roscoe in Channel 4‘s Hollyoaks.

Gillian left the show during the Summer of 2014 but returned in December before leaving once again in January, 2015.

After less than a decade away, she made a shock return to EastEnders a month after leaving Chester as part of the show’s 30th anniversary episode.

The soap star reprised the role of Kathy Beale on a permanent basis from August, 2015.

Is Gillian Taylforth from EastEnders married?

Although Kathy Beale, as mentioned above, has been married multiple times, Gillian Taylforth is not known to have tied the knot with anybody.

The actress seems to have dodged the prospect of marriage throughout the years but has had her fair share of romance.

During her time in EastEnders, she embarked on a romantic relationship with co-star Nick Berry aka Simon Wicks.

She went on to date Geoff Knights in the late 1980s and the couple lived in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire before moving to Arrington in Cambridgeshire.

Gillian gave birth to a daughter in 1992 but was met with tragic news in 1996 when she suffered a miscarriage.

Less than a year later, when she was pregnant once again, she was told the baby she was carrying had severe abnormalities and she was encouraged to terminate the pregnancy.

Despite all the hurdles she had to jump through, Gillian became a mother for a second time in 1999.

Gillian and Geoff eventually parted ways in 2009 and details of her personal life have remained under wraps.

But she was linked to Dave Fairbairn and it seemed she was finally ready to tie the knot with him.

Sadly, the couple called it quits in December, 2020, before they could even walk down the aisle.

Although Gillian keeps her personal life out of the spotlight, it could be safe to assume she may be enjoying single life.

Meanwhile, EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.

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But is Gillian Taylforth married herself?[/caption]