Taylforth: 'Kathy Beale would sort out Mitchell'

Gillian Taylforth has stated that only her Eastenders character Kathy Beale could rid former on-screen husband Phil Mitchell of his drug addiction.

The Footballers' Wives actress, who starred in the BBC soap from 1985 to 2000, argued that her character had the ability to turn Mitchell's life around again after helping him through his alcoholism in a previous storyline.

Speaking to Inside Soap magazine, Taylforth commented: "It sounds as though everything is going downhill for Phil again, doesn't it? If Kathy was still alive, I think she'd get in there and sort it all out - she was always like that, wasn't she?"

"Good old Kathy, always someone to rely on. She was really a very strong character and I did like that about her. Kathy would do anything for her family and she'd easily sort all those problems out for Phil!"

Taylforth added that show bosses had wasted the opportunity for her triumphant return to Albert Square by killing her character in an off-screen car crash back in 2006.

"A producer phoned to tell me, and my first response was, 'Oh! Do you have to?' I didn't think it was the wisest move to have made because there was a lot more that could have been done with Kathy. It was the show's choice though, and that's just the way it goes."

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