"Kaffy" come home

Eastenders bosses are planning to offer Gillian Taylforth a 200,000 a year deal to return to Albert Square.

14:16 06 February 2005

Eastenders bosses are planning to offer Gillian Taylforth a 200,000 a year deal to return to Albert Square.

The Sunday Mirror claims that BBC executives want the Eastenders veteran to return as Kathy Beale in a bid to push the ailing soap back up the ratings.

If the reports are true, the deal would make Taylforth one of the highest paid stars in the show, which is currently struggling to keep up with the current success enjoyed by its ITV rival, Coronation Street.

"Bosses are determined to get the soap back on top and they want Kathy Beale back," an Eastenders source told the paper.

"She was one of the most popular characters and has been a huge hit on Footballers' Wives since and executives want to capitalise on that too."

Taylforth, 49, played the downtrodden mother of hapless businessman Ian Beale until 1997, when she quit to star in ITV's cult drama about the personal lives of footballers.

The actress had starred in Eastenders since the launch of the soap in 1985 and became the first cast member to clock up a record 1,000 shows.

Taylforth made a brief return to the Square in 2002, when her character Kathy came to bid farewell to her screen grandson Steven, who scriptwriters sent to New Zealand.

The newspaper claims Eastenders' new production team are also considering bringing Ian Beale's stroppy son back and are currently searching for a "heart-throb" to play him on screen.

Amid rumours of her return, the paper reports Taylforth as saying: "I've always wanted to go back because I love EastEnders - I have great friends in the cast."

EastEnders viewing figures plummeted to an all-time low of 6.4million last year.