OHMYGOSSIP — Gwen Taylor auditioned to star in the first ever episode of ‘EastEnders’.
The former ‘Barbara’ star has just joined the BBC One soap as Violet Highway, the straight-talking grandmother of Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ) and Callum Highway (Tony Clay), but her appearance in Albert Square has been 36 years in the making.
In an interview with RadioTimes.com, she said: “I actually went up for the first ever episode of ‘EastEnders’ all those hundreds of years ago.
“I can’t remember what the part was, we never got that far! I was turned down because I didn’t come from the London area, which I understood as they were making a commitment to the kind of actors they were after. But because of that I’d dismissed it from my mind as being something I’d ever work on.
“Then my agent told me there was a role on offer which would fit me like a glove – I thought ‘how extraordinary’, it’s like I’ve come full circle.”
Gwen made her first appearance on screen as Violet on Monday (03.05.21) and she admits she has borrowed a lot of traits from her own mother to bring the character to life.
She said: “Vi is sharp but honest, and her family is important to her. Stuart is her favourite, she looked after him a lot when he was younger because his parents weren’t able to. She loves those boys and is incredibly protective of them.
“The character reminds me of my old mum who would occasionally put her foot in it.
“She would sit in front of the telly forming opinions, then tell people exactly what she thought! It could be a bit embarrassing. She said the wrong thing quite a few times, but it didn’t stop you loving her and, like Vi, she never means to upset anyone.
“I’m 82 now and look more like my mother every day so there has to be a bit of her in there!”
And Gwen – who played Anne Foster in ITV soap ‘Coronation Street’ – is hoping her alter ego goes on to become one of Walford’s great female matriarchs in the same vein as Peggy Mitchell and Lou Beale.
She said: “I’d love to think there’s an element of that in Vi, but you’d have to talk the writers! They haven’t given me much of that so far but I’m hoping it gets brought in a bit more the longer I’m here.”

Source: VacationHunter.Online
Find us also on Facebook @Ohmygossip.com