ITV Catchphrase: The actual lifetime of Coronation Avenue’s Toyah Battersby actress Georgia Taylor – actual identify, seldom seen well-known companion and movie previous

Coronation Street fans watched as Toyah Battersby this week found out the mother of all mysteries – that her cheating partner Imran Habeeb is the father of Abi Webster’s baby. The Underworld staffer and councilman ripped off the attorney after learning the news from Abi’s husband Kevin. He found baby Alfie’s birth certificate at Abi’s apartment and quickly left before informing Toyah, who was going to an adoption meeting with Imran, about Elsie, the little girl they had raised.

It’s fair to say Toyah was left heartbroken by the reveal, and it’s not the first time she’s faced trials and tribulations on the Corrie cobbles.

READ MORE: The ITV Coronation Street Max star cuts a stylish figure as he joins the co-stars on a night out in Manchester

Georgia Taylor made her debut on the ITV soap as Toyah in 1997 aged just 17 alongside Janice and Les Battersby and Les’ daughter Leanne when it was revealed that the ‘Family from Hell’ was making its way onto the hit soap should cause some trouble.

Shortly after arriving in Weatherfield, Toyah fell in love with the eco-warrior Spider Nugent, but when he quit his job at DSS and went to India, Toyah stayed behind. Georgia’s character was also at the center of a harrowing storyline when she was raped by her former neighbor Phil Simmonds.

The Battersbys in 1998

Toyah left the street in 2003 after finding out her boyfriend John Arnley had been cheating on her with her best friend Maria Sutherland, which led Georgia to pursue a few other acting roles. The Wigan actress joined the cast of Casualty as Doctor Ruth Winters in 2007 and was a regular on the series until 2011. She has also appeared in Where the Heart is, Law and Order: UK and Life on Mars.

In 2005 she starred opposite Helen Baxendale in The Woman Before at the Royal Court in London and appeared in Christmas is Miles Away at the Royal Exchange Theater in Manchester and the Bush Theater in London.

Georgia in the accident

But not many people will know that Georgia has also secured a few film roles. According to the Daily Star, her film career has included working for The Bank Job alongside Dominic Cooper in the 2006 film History Boys and Jason Statham in 2008.

Then, in September 2016 after a 13-year absence, Toyah’s comeback to the cobbles was announced and she made an explosive return for Christmas when it was announced she had left her husband of five years, Toby Chapman, for Peter Barlow, Leanne’s ex-husband.

Continue reading
Continue reading

In 2017, Toyah and alcoholic Peter bought Rovers Return together and became the pub’s new landlords. She longed to be a mother to Peter but was unable to conceive using IVF and her surrogate Jacqui Ainsworth unfortunately miscarried. Keeping the tragedy a secret from Peter, Toyah struck a deal with Eva Price to pass off their newborn daughter Susie as the baby Jacqui had been carrying. But when the guilt became overwhelming, she returned the baby and Peter ended their relationship.

As for Georgia’s love life, it’s a lot less complicated than that of the character she plays. The 42-year-old star’s longtime partner is fellow actor Mark Letheren. He played journalist Simon Kitson on ITV drama The Bill and consultant Ben Harding on BBC One’s Casualty. He also had a recurring role as DS Kevin Geoffries on ITV crime drama Wire in the Blood.

But it was on the set of Casualty where love reportedly blossomed and where the couple met in 2008. Mark is now a photographer and regularly shares his work on his Instagram page. And Georgia is also showing her support for her partner’s impressive photography skills.

Georgia and Mark

Back in February, Georgia took to Instagram with some snaps from her romantic getaway with her other half, the first of which showed her wrapped up warm in a hat, scarf and coat as the rain smacked her umbrella. “Short but insightful, weekend with my love @markletheren @tyntesfieldnt. The boy takes a good snap,” she told her thousands of followers.

But it’s not often that she shares pictures with Mark and the last time seemed to be in October 2021 when the couple enjoyed a stunning break in Ullswater in the Lake District. The series of vacation snaps also included a few selfies of the loved-up couple. In one photo, Georgia and Mark, who live together in Bristol, looked a bit windswept as they dealt with the changeable weather, but both grinned for the camera as they posed for the adorable couple photos.

Another thing fans may not know is that Georgia isn’t actually called Georgia at all. Her name when she was born was Claire Jackson — but that all changed when she joined Corrie in 1997. “It’s not like I planned it,” she previously told the Mirror. “But when I started Coronation Street, I had to register with Equity, the actors’ union, and at the time there seemed to be a hell of a lot of Claires, so I had to come up with something else.”

Georgia in the final Corrie scenes

She added, “I can’t tell you where I got Georgia from other than liking it, but my grandfather’s last name was Taylor and he died just before I got the part. As a teenager, I didn’t really think about the ramifications of opting for a completely different name, but it does mean there’s been quite a bit of confusion over the years. At this point, I’ll answer pretty much anything!”

Georgia still goes to Claire in her passport and to her mother, Caroline Jackson. But the actress also revealed that about half of Corrie’s cast and crew call her Claire, while the rest know her as Georgia.

“It took me a few weeks on the job to change my name from being Claire Jackson to being Georgia Taylor in the credits. When I left in 2003, I went out into the world as a job actress and everyone called me Georgia, it’s been that way for years, and some of my very best friends call me Georgia.

“I met Marc [Letheren] as Georgia. But back to Coronation Street five years ago, and there was still a lot of cast and crew who previously knew me as Claire, so for them I was back to Claire, while the people I didn’t know before called me Georgia .

“It’s pretty funny when I introduce myself to people. Anyone who recognizes me from Corrie thinks of me as Toyah, and then I’m like, ‘I’m Georgia, but I’m Claire too, so really call me whatever you want’.”

Continue reading
Continue reading