The Bill and EastEnders star Roberta Taylor dies aged 76 after ongoing health ordeal

Roberta Taylor has died following a prolonged infection the actress could not overcome, according to reports. The EastEnders actress, who was also famed for her role on The Bill, has died aged 76.

The actress suffered from emphysema and had a fall two months ago which is believed to have agitated her underlying ill health with pneumonia. The on-screen star reportedly died earlier this month on July 6.

The star, also known for her role as Inspector Gina Gold in the long-running ITV crime soap drama The Bill, leaves behind her actor husband Peter Guinness, her son Elliott, a granddaughter and two stepbrothers.

Her last major TV series appearance came on the private investigator's comedy Shakespeare & Hathaway.

Tributes have poured in online as fans offered their condolences to the late actress.

One person penned: "Heartbreaking news. RIP Roberta Taylor, one of the finest actors this country has ever seen. Thinking about her family, friends and fellow fans."

Another wrote: "Sad news about the passing of Roberta Taylor. Gina Gold was one of my favourite TV characters growing up and I still think of her one liners, some well needed comic relief in what could be a pretty heavy episode."

A third penned: "RIP Roberta Taylor. Gina Gold was one of my all time favourite characters from The Bill. Superb actress. Sleep Well."

A fourth added: "So sad to hear that Roberta Taylor who played Inspector Gina Gold in The Bill has passed away. RIP."

Roberta was born in Plaistow, East London on the 26 February 1948. It is in the Isle of Dogs that she was raised by her mother Winifred Roberts, grandma and aunties.

She began her career as a dental nurse but continued to take drama classes in her spare time.

Roberta tied the knot with married ropemaker Victor Taylor in 1966, and the couple had a son, Elliott, in the same year. In 1973, a friend urged her to audition for drama school, where she would go on to meet her second husband Peter Guinness.

She refined her acting skills working for the Glasgow Citizens Theatre from 1980 to 1992.

During this period she was cast in A Waste of Time, in which her co-stars were Rupert Everett and Gary Oldman.

Roberta's time in Walford began in 1997 and lasted until 2000, where she played Irene Raymond. She was introduced as the matriarch of the Hills family who stopped by to visit her estranged kids Sarah (Daniela Denby-Ashe) and Tony (Mark Homer).

She had several love interests on the BBC soap including a dalliance with Terry Raymond (Gavin Richards). She also engaged in an affair with her lodger Troy Harvey (Jamie Jarvis) in a drama-filled stint on the London-based soap.

The actress landed another high-profile role when she jumped ship and appeared in ITV's series The Bill (2002-08), as the hard-drinking, no-nonsense Inspector Gina Gold.

Away from the two popular soaps, Roberta's impressive CV saw her star on the likes of Silent Witness, Inspector Morse and Doctors.

Her last acting job came in 2019, where she played a role on the crime drama series Luther.