Actress Dies After Contracting Infection Following Fall: Roberta Taylor Was 76

Longtime EastEnders star Roberta Taylor, best known for playing Irene Raymond on the classic soap opera, has died. She was 76. According to BBC News, her death was the result of an infection stemming from a fall she took months before passing. She had also been dealing with an underlying health issue with pneumonia.

Taylor was a fixture on EastEnders from 1997 until leaving the show in 2000. The actress revealed why she decided to exit while speaking with the Mirror at the time. “When can I learn my lines?’ I gave over much of my life to the show and if I was to carry on at such a pace I’d have to continue to put my life on hold,” she said. “I didn’t want to do things at half-cock […] I had a lot of fun playing Irene, and Gavin, who plays my screen husband Terry, and I got on brilliantly. Irene was a complicated lady. I never knew what was going to happen next, but that’s what life is like. We worked hard at our characters. People thought we were comical but actually there was a lot of sarcasm.”

Apart from EastEnders, the actress had a main role in The Bill and starring roles in Silent Witness, Inspector Morse, and Doctors. Her final acting job came in the Idris Elba crime drama Luther.

“Sad to hear lovely Roberta Taylor has passed away. She was a joy to work with and always great fun when I saw her – RIP,” former The Bill co-star Stuart Anthony wrote in honor of the late actress. EastEnders also shared a statement on the passing, praising Taylor for her contributions over the years.

“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 from the show reads. “Roberta will always be remembered fondly by everyone that worked with her and our love and thoughts go to her family and friends.”