Tributes paid to EastEnders star Roberta Taylor

Roberta Taylor detailed her unconventional East End upbringing in a 2005 memoir

The BBC One soap opera EastEnders has paid tribute to the actress Roberta Taylor, who has died at the age of 76.

She was best known for playing Irene Raymond in the show between 1997 and 2000, as well as for a later role as Insp Gina Gold in ITV police drama The Bill.

Her agent Roxanne Vacaa said she died on 6 July.

In a statement on Instagram, EastEnders said it was "deeply saddened" at the news.

Taylor starring in a dramatic scene in EastEnders in 2000, alongside on-screen husband Gavin Richards

"Roberta made an impact with audiences from the first moment she arrived in Albert Square with her performance as the formidable Irene Raymond," the tribute read.

"Roberta will always be remembered fondly by everyone that worked with her and our love and thoughts go to her family and friends."

EastEnders producer Kyri Zindilis posted a photo on X of Taylor alongside fellow stars including Barbara Windsor and Pam St Clement, which was taken during filming of an episode of the soap set in Spain.

"Devastated to hear this - I adored Irene Raymond," he wrote.

"We have this picture printed out and up on the wall in the Story Department, and it always makes me smile. RIP Roberta Taylor."

Taylor's character Irene was involved in storylines including cheating on her husband Terry Raymond (Gavin Richards) and her difficulties with her children by former husband Ted Hills (Brian Croucher).

From 2002-2008, she starred in The Bill as Insp Gina Gold, a chain-smoking whisky drinker with a sarcastic manner and a temper, who drew comparisons with her EastEnders character.

Taylor, who was born in Plaistow and grew up in the Isle of Dogs, was also known for appearances in TV dramas Bleak House, Luther, Casualty and Inspector Morse, as well as the film adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Witches.

'Peculiar family'

In 2005, the actress published a memoir, Too Many Mothers: An East End Childhood, in which she explored her complex family life in east London.

Speaking about the book in magazine interview, she recalled that she had grown up in a "peculiar family" in which she and her siblings and cousins were "swapped" between her mother's brothers and sisters.

Taylor said she had not seen her father since she was a child and had no wishes to encounter him again.

She said: "My book is the story of the love of my mum's life, a married man she met when she was 18, my father.

"At the time it was very difficult - my birth stopped her being free for the rest of her life.

"It's a gritty story and ultimately it's one of personal triumph. But it's also a story that says, 'If you trust too much, you're dead'."

Taylor was married to Peter Guinness, also an actor, and had one son, Elliott, with her former husband, Victor Taylor.