Coronation Street Toyah star Georgia Taylor’s life off-screen including famous ex-husband
Georgia Taylor, a long-standing fixture on Coronation Street, is best known for her portrayal of Toyah Battersby, a role she took on at just 17 years old.
Toyah was quickly thrust into the spotlight with a series of intense storylines, including a shocking rape narrative that stunned viewers across the nation.
Now, it's been suggested that Corrie chiefs are set to revisit the distressing 2001 storyline with the alleged unearthing of Toyah's stillborn baby at Red Rec park. This contentious decision could see a distraught Toyah in turmoil as she discovers the land is due to be excavated for development.
Toyah is already facing challenging times as she attempts to shield her sister Leanne Battersby (played by Jane Danson) from the influence of 'reality coding' cult leader Rowan.
Georgia's portrayal of Toyah catapulted her into soap stardom and paved the way for roles in other popular shows such as Where The Heart Is, Casualty, and Law and Order: UK.
When not gracing the cobbles of Corrie, 44 year old Georgia has also dabbled in film and theatre and became a regular star on Celebrity Gogglebox.
As Toyah navigates yet more rocky waters, we take a look at the life of actress Georgia behind the scenes, including her real name and relationship with her former onscreen husband...
Manchester-born Georgia attended the Willpower Youth Theatre in Wigan during her teenage years before landing her breakthrough role on Coronation Street.
Interestingly, Georgia's real name is Claire Jackson. She revealed that she adopted the stage name Georgia Taylor when she entered the world of acting.
Georgia first appeared on Corrie in 1997 but left in 2003 to explore new acting avenues. During her hiatus from the soap, she joined the cast of BBC drama Casualty, playing the character of Ruth Winters.
Georgia met her ex-husband, fellow actor Mark Letheren, on the set of Casualty. Mark, 53, is best known for his role as Simon Kitson on The Bill and his portrayal of Ben Harding on Casualty.
Speaking out about how they met during an episode of Lorraine, Georgia confirmed that they had never married but that they 'practically were' given the length of the relationship.
She shared: "We met, he was a sort of semi-regular character, he was playing a counsellor ironically, which is then what Toyah ended up doing. We met, gosh 13 years ago. So yeah, got him out of the job and lots of friends and it was a really good time."
In January 2023, The Sun newspaper reported that Georgia and Mark had called it quits in July 2022, after 14 years together. Mark appeared to allude to the break-up in an emotional social media post shared at the end of 2022, writing: "It's been the worst year after a number of increasingly s**t years. My life finally fell apart. Thankfully, I'm incredibly lucky and have a family who have picked up the pieces and are trying to help me re-build myself.
"It's thanks to them I'm still here and trying to move forward. For that I am truly grateful. Whatever the new year brings I hope that strength, humility, joy and love are in abundance for you all."
Georgia has since found love again with former co-star Charlie De Melo, who played Toyah's solicitor husband Imran Habeeb. Imran was written out of the soap in 2022 following a deadly car crash, and Georgia confessed at the time that she would miss her on-screen hubby.
Describing herself as 'heartbroken' at the time, Georgia shared: "I absolutely adore him. He's been a dream, an absolute dream. He's so funny so we laugh a lot but he is honestly one of the most supportive people I have ever worked with and even now, we're still in touch obviously, he's texting me, 'How did the day go? Are you okay?'
"He's just a team player. And I mean look at him, there's no complaints there either. He's beautiful."
Their friendship has since blossomed into a full-blown romance, and the loved-up pair have kept delighted Instagram followers updated with their adventures together, which have seen them travel to Sorrento and Belfast, and rock out at a Blur gig.
