Coronation Street Toyah star Georgia Taylor’s off-screen life, including famous ex-husband

Georgia Taylor, a long-time fixture on Coronation Street, is best known for her portrayal of Toyah Battersby, a role she took on when she was just 17 years old.

Toyah was quickly thrust into the spotlight by a series of gripping storylines, including a shocking rape story that shocked viewers across the country.

Now it is believed that Corrie bosses are planning to revisit the disturbing 2001 story about the alleged excavation of Toyah’s stillborn baby at Red Rec Park. The controversial decision could leave a distraught Toyah in turmoil when she learns the land is set to be dug up for building purposes.

Toyah is already facing difficult times as she tries to protect her sister Leanne Battersby (played by Jane Danson) from the influence of “reality coding” cult leader Rowan.

Georgia’s portrayal of Toyah made her a star of the soap and paved the way for roles in other popular series such as Where The Heart Is, Casualty and Law and Order: UK.

When Georgia, 44, isn’t gracing the cobbles of Corrie, she’s also dabbling in film and theatre and has become a regular on Celebrity Gogglebox.

As Toyah navigates more difficult waters, we take a look at actress Georgia’s life behind the scenes, including her real name and her relationship with her former on-screen husband…

Born in Manchester, Georgia attended the Willpower Youth Theatre in Wigan as a teenager before making her breakthrough with a role in 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 the series in 2003 to explore new acting avenues. During her break from the soap, she joined the cast of BBC drama Casualty, playing the role 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 in The Bill and his portrayal of Ben Harding in Casualty.

Speaking about how they met in an episode of Lorraine, Georgia confirmed that the two never married, but that it was “convenient” given how long their relationship lasted.

She said: “We met, he was a sort of semi-normal character, he was playing an adviser ironically, which was Toyah’s role later on. We met, gosh, 13 years ago. So, yeah, we got him out of work and a lot of friends and it was a really good time.”

In January 2023, The Sun newspaper reported that Georgia and Mark had split in July 2022 after 14 years together. Mark appeared to allude to the split in an emotional social media post shared in late 2022, writing: “It’s been the worst year after a series of increasingly shitty years. My life has finally fallen apart. Thankfully I’m incredibly lucky and have a family who have picked up the pieces and are trying to help me rebuild.

“It is because of you that I am still here and trying to move forward. For that I am truly grateful. Whatever the new year brings, I hope you all have strength, humility, joy and love in abundance.”

Georgia has since found love again with her former co-star Charlie De Melo, who played Toyah’s husband, lawyer Imran Habeeb. Imran was written out of the soap in 2022 following a fatal car crash, and Georgia confessed at the time that she would miss her on-screen husband.

Describing herself as “heartbroken” at the time, Georgia said: “I absolutely adore him. He’s a dream, an absolute dream. He’s so funny, so we laugh a lot, but he’s honestly one of the most supportive people I’ve ever worked with and even now, of course, we’re still in touch. He texts me: ‘How was your day? Are you OK?’

“He’s just a team player. And I mean, look at him, there’s nothing to complain about. He’s beautiful.”

Their friendship has now blossomed into a full-blown romance and the happily in love couple keeps their enthusiastic followers on Instagram updated about their adventures together, which have taken them to Sorrento and Belfast and to a Blur performance, among other places.