Kelly Taylor

Kelly Taylor is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Brooke Kinsella. The character was introduced by executive producer John Yorke, in 2001. She was only due to appear in eight episodes as part of a prostitution/homelessness storyline featuring Michelle Ryan's established character, Zoe Slater, who had run away from home in late 2001 and was living at the same brothel as Kelly. However, the viewer response to Kelly was positive, so she was reintroduced as a regular at the end of 2002. The character remained in the serial until 2004, when executive producer Louise Berridge decided that her storylines had come to a natural end. In March 2008 Kinsella said in an interview with Woman magazine that she would love to return to EastEnders at some point but the ball is in the court of the producers. Storylines Kelly first appears on screen in December 2001. She is a young prostitute who is being pimped by the malicious Roxy Drake (Tracy Brabin). She had been thrown out by her family when she was a young girl and Roxy had taken her in off the streets. Kelly felt that she owed her and she had soon been persuaded to act as an underage prostitute for Roxy's clientele. Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), another runaway, has also been taken under Roxy's wing and she gives her a place to stay. Here, she meets and befriends Kelly, and on Roxy's instruction, Kelly sets about trying to convince Zoe to prostitute herself too. Zoe refuses to oblige, after which a furious Roxy starts demanding money from her in exchange for her hospitality. On Christmas Day that year, Kelly helps Zoe escape Roxy's evil clutches and Zoe returns to Albert Square, leaving Kelly to face up to a fuming Roxy. Kelly is next seen in December 2002 when Zoe runs away from home for a second time, following her father's heart attack. She and Zoe decide to leave the United Kingdom and go to stay in Tenerife with one of Kelly's rich punters. Zoe returns to Walford and brings Kelly back with her. She takes up lodging with the rest of the Slaters and is soon welcomed in as part of the family. Now that she has given up prostitution, Kelly has no money, so Zoe decides that she should become a partner in her clothing stall, and the two run it together in Bridge Street market.