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Gaynor Faye

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Gaynor Faye
Faye and Matt Evers on the Dancing on Ice tour in 2010
Born
Gaynor Kay Mellor

(1971-08-26) 26 August 1971 (age 53)
Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
OccupationActress
Years active1991–present
PartnerMark Pickering
Children2
MotherKay Mellor

Gaynor Kay Mellor (born 26 August 1971), known professionally as Gaynor Faye, is an English actress and writer. She played Judy Mallett in television soap opera Coronation Street from 1995 until 1999 and Megan Macey in Emmerdale from 2012 until 2019.[citation needed]

Early life

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Gaynor Faye was born in Leeds, England, to TV scriptwriter Kay Mellor[1][2] and Anthony Mellor.[3] Her maternal grandmother was Jewish.[4] She has one sister, Yvonne.

Career

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Faye has played the roles of Holly Quinn in BBC television drama series Playing the Field, Lauren Harris in Fat Friends, Georgia Lovett in Between the Sheets and Julie in Stan the Man. She has also written two episodes of Fat Friends.

Faye played the role of Judy Mallett in ITV's Coronation Street from 2 October 1995 to 26 September 1999. The Malletts moved into 9 Coronation Street in 1995. Judy was an arcade assistant, and later a barmaid at the Rovers Return. Brash and strong-willed, Judy had a sensitive side, too, and longed to have children. Before the arrival of twins in 1998, Judy had believed she was unable to conceive, leading the Malletts to buy pregnant teen Zoe Tattersall's baby, naming the child Katie. They were left heartbroken when Zoe broke the agreement and took back her daughter. Less than a year after becoming a mother, Judy was involved in a minor car accident, causing an undetected blood clot in her leg. A few days later, she died suddenly when hanging out washing at No.9; Gary was attending Ashley and Maxine Peacock's wedding.

In 2006, Faye appeared in ITV's Dancing on Ice. Her skating partner was Daniel Whiston. On 4 March 2006, she was crowned the inaugural Dancing on Ice champion. From 2006 to 2007, Faye starred as Anna Williams Bedford in The Chase, a television series co-written with her mother for BBC One. Faye released a video based on the exercise routine she followed during Dancing on Ice.

Faye appeared in the stage adaptation of Calendar Girls alongside Lynda Bellingham at London's Noël Coward Theatre in 2009.[5] This was written by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth.

In September 2010, she was a guest panellist on ITV's Loose Women. In 2011, Faye played Zarina Wix in children's programme Dani's House. In October 2011, it was announced that Faye would join the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, playing Declan Macey's ambitious half-sister Megan Macey. Megan first appeared on-screen on 21 February 2012. Faye left the role in 2019. On 11 November and 16 December 2011, she guest presented the ITV Breakfast programme Lorraine.

In March 2021, Faye appeared in the BBC One drama The Syndicate as Cheryl Armitage. Since 2021, Faye has narrated Hornby: A Model World following the works of Hornby, Scalextrics, and Airfix on the Yesterday channel. In September 2023, Faye starred in the Channel 5 drama series The Inheritance, appearing alongside Samantha Bond, Jemima Rooper, Rob James-Collier and Adil Ray.[6][7]

Personal life

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Faye lives with long-term partner Mark Pickering in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The couple have two children.[8]

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Faye took online courses in semantics, Spanish and counselling. She said, "I know people who really struggle with their mental health and it’s important for me to know what to do for my family, my kids, my loved ones – to help people when they’re struggling. To help other people is what I want to do." Faye practises Buddhism.[9] She told OK! magazine: "I've been a Buddhist since I asked a friend 25 years ago what skin cream she used because she was so glowing and she said: "It’s not cream, it’s because I chant" [...] It's just part of my life now, it's like brushing my teeth. In the morning, I do it to set up my life and so I can live in a higher life state."[10]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1991 The Sharp End Crystal 8 episodes
1992 The Life and Times of Harry Pratt Mabel Billington Series 1 episode 4
1994 Fair Game Boggle Hole Girl Television film
Downwardly Mobile Mandy Series 1 episode 3: Underarm Combat
1994–1995 Peak Practice WPC Benson 3 episodes
1995 The Chief Probation Officer 1 episode
Men of the World Judy Series 2 episode 5: Stolen Kiss
Coogan's Run The Prostitute Series 1 episode 2: Death of a Salesman
1995–1999 Coronation Street Judy Mallett 353 episodes
1996 Some Kind of Life Lorraine Television film
1999 Fanny and Elvis Samantha
2000–2002 Playing the Field Holly Quinn 13 episodes
2000–2005 Fat Friends Lauren Harris 22 episodes
2002 Stan the Man Julie 1 episode
2003 Murder in Mind Alyson Holt Series 3 episode 2: Favours
Between the Sheets Georgia Lovett 6 episodes
2006 Mayo Kitty McNally 1 episode
2006–2007 The Chase Anna Williams/Anna Williams Bedford 20 episodes
2006–2010 Dancing on Ice Herself/Presenter 13 episodes
2007–2020 Loose Women Herself/Presenter 11 episodes
2007, 2011 Casualty Diane Adlington/Jane Reardon 2 episodes
2009 Economy Gastronomy Narrator 6 episodes; voice only
2011–2012 Dani's House Zarina/Zanna Wix 13 episodes
2012–2019 Emmerdale Megan Macey 805 episodes
2019 Worthless Marge Short film
2021 The Syndicate Cheryl Series 4; 6 episodes
2023 The Inheritance Sian 4 episodes
TBA Dark Mountain Epona Short film; currently in post-production

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2006 12th National Television Awards Most Popular TV Contender Dancing on Ice Nominated [11]
2007 TVQuick & TVChoice Awards Best Actress The Chase Nominated [12]
2012 Inside Soap Awards Best Newcomer Emmerdale Nominated [13]
2012 Inside Soap Awards Best Bitch Nominated [13]
2013 Nominated [14]
2014 Nominated [15]

References

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  1. ^ "Kay Mellor: Actress and Fat Friends creator dies, aged 71". BBC News. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Celebrity Interview: Gaynor Faye". Yorkshire Evening Post. 1 December 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  3. ^ Brown, Maggie (3 August 2014). "Kay Mellor: 'Steven Spielberg rang me up in Topshop'". The Guardian. London.
  4. ^ "Time of her life". The Guardian. London, UK. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  5. ^ Jardine, Cassandra (17 March 2009). "Calendar Girls: the stage show". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  6. ^ Robinson, Abby (4 September 2023). "The Inheritance cast: Meet the characters in Channel 5 drama". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  7. ^ Power, Ed (4 September 2023). "The Inheritance, Channel 5, review: What would you do if your dad left everything to a stranger?". iNews. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  8. ^ Mwitumwa, Monde (13 March 2023). "Dancing On Ice previous winners and where they are now from 'fat-shaming' to co-star marriage and working as a delivery driver". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  9. ^ English, Paul (4 October 2021). "Corrie actress Gaynor Faye – "I want to be able to help the people I love when they are struggling"". Sunday Post. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  10. ^ Sansome, Jessica (21 May 2022). "ITV Emmerdale: Real life of Gaynor Faye – Buddhism, quitting soap for famous mum and heartbreaking loss". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  11. ^ "National Television Awards". thecustard.tv. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  12. ^ "Welcome to the TVQuick & TVChoice Awards 2007!". TV Quick. H Bauer Publishing. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  13. ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel (19 July 2012). "Inside Soap Awards 2012 – longlist nominees in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  14. ^ Dainty, Sophie (22 July 2013). "Inside Soap Awards 2013 – longlist nominees in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  15. ^ Dainty, Sophie (29 July 2014). "Inside Soap Awards 2014 longlist revealed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
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