Gillian Taylforth’s sister is also a famous TV star with two soap roles

For decades, Gillian Taylforth has been one of the most recognisable faces on British television thanks to her iconic role as Kathy Beale in EastEnders. But what many fans may not realise is that acting talent runs in the family, with her sister also carving out a successful career on screen.

Gillian, now 70, has been a fixture in Walford since EastEnders first launched back in February 1985. As one of the soap’s original cast members, Kathy Beale quickly became a fan favourite and remains one of the show’s most beloved characters.

Over the years, viewers have watched Kathy navigate countless dramatic storylines, from family feuds and heartbreak to shock returns and new romances. Despite leaving Albert Square in the late 1990s, Kathy’s story was far from over.

After moving to South Africa with husband Gavin Sullivan and son Ben Mitchell, Kathy appeared to have left Walford behind for good. However, years later, viewers were stunned when it emerged that reports of her death had been completely false. Her dramatic return in 2015 remains one of EastEnders’ most memorable moments.

Since then, Kathy has continued to be at the centre of life in Albert Square and is currently enjoying a relationship with Harvey Monroe, much to the frustration of his former partner Jean Slater.

While Gillian’s soap legacy is well established, she isn’t the only member of the Taylforth family to find success in the entertainment industry.

Her younger sister, Kim Taylforth, has enjoyed an impressive television career spanning several decades, appearing in some of Britain’s most popular dramas and soaps.

In a surprising twist, the sisters even ended up playing siblings on screen.

Many viewers will remember Gillian’s stint in Hollyoaks, where she played Sandy Roscoe, the outspoken matriarch of the Roscoe family. Sandy arrived in the Chester-based soap in 2013 and quickly became involved in the lives of her large family before departing the show the following year.

A few years later, fans were treated to a real-life family connection when Kim joined Hollyoaks as Christine Roscoe, Sandy’s sister.

The casting meant the real-life sisters were also portraying sisters on screen, something that delighted soap fans at the time. Kim’s character made a brief appearance in 2017 when she visited her nephew Freddie Roscoe. However, Hollyoaks wasn’t Kim’s first soap role.

Long-time soap viewers may also recognise her from Brookside, where she appeared as Pauline Robson. Although her time on the Liverpool-based drama was relatively short, it added another well-known soap credit to her growing acting CV.

Outside of soapland, Kim has enjoyed a varied television career that includes appearances in several classic British dramas.

She is perhaps best known to many viewers for playing Marilyn Fenner in the hit prison drama Bad Girls. Her character was the long-suffering wife of corrupt prison officer Jim Fenner, one of the show’s most notorious villains.

Over the years, Kim has also appeared in Family Affairs, The Bill, London’s Burning and Operation Good Guys, proving herself to be a familiar face across British television.

More recently, she appeared in the film Tales of the Underworld, adding another project to her extensive list of screen credits.

Away from television, Kim has also become a popular performer on the theatre circuit, regularly appearing in pantomimes around the UK. Whether playing the Wicked Queen or the Good Fairy, she has remained a favourite with family audiences for years.

Meanwhile, Gillian’s own life away from EastEnders has often attracted attention.

Back in the 1980s, she famously dated fellow EastEnders star Nick Berry, who played Simon ‘Wicksy’ Wicks. Their relationship generated plenty of headlines at the time, partly because Nick was younger than Gillian and because their characters were linked on screen as stepmother and stepson.

The pair were together for around three years before eventually going their separate ways.

Gillian later found love with Geoff Knights, with whom she had two children, Harrison and Jessica. The couple shared many years together before Geoff’s tragic death from stomach cancer in 2013.

These days, the actress largely keeps her personal life out of the spotlight and prefers to focus on her family and her long-running role on EastEnders.

While millions of viewers know Gillian Taylforth as Kathy Beale, her sister’s impressive acting career often flies under the radar. From Brookside and Hollyoaks to Bad Girls and beyond, Kim Taylforth has quietly built a television career that’s every bit as impressive.

And for soap fans who never realised the connection, discovering that two talented sisters have both made their mark on some of Britain’s biggest shows might just come as a surprise.