Gaynor Faye

Early life

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

Career

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. 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.

Personal life

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

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. 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."

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (17 May 2022). "Kay Mellor: Actress and Fat Friends creator dies, aged 71". BBC News.
2. (1 December 2013). "Celebrity Interview: Gaynor Faye". [[Yorkshire Evening Post]].
3. Brown, Maggie. (3 August 2014). "Kay Mellor: 'Steven Spielberg rang me up in Topshop'". The Guardian.
4. "Time of her life". The Guardian.
5. Jardine, Cassandra. (17 March 2009). "Calendar Girls: the stage show". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
6. Robinson, Abby. (4 September 2023). "The Inheritance cast: Meet the characters in Channel 5 drama".
7. Power, Ed. (4 September 2023). "The Inheritance, Channel 5, review: What would you do if your dad left everything to a stranger?".
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".
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"".
10. Sansome, Jessica. (21 May 2022). "ITV Emmerdale: Real life of Gaynor Faye – Buddhism, quitting soap for famous mum and heartbreaking loss".
11. "National Television Awards". thecustard.tv.
12. "Welcome to the TVQuick & TVChoice Awards 2007!". H Bauer Publishing.
13. Kilkelly, Daniel. (19 July 2012). "''Inside Soap'' Awards 2012 – longlist nominees in full". [[Digital Spy]].
14. Dainty, Sophie. (22 July 2013). "''Inside Soap'' Awards 2013 – longlist nominees in full". [[Digital Spy]].
15. Dainty, Sophie. (29 July 2014). "''Inside Soap'' Awards 2014 longlist revealed". [[Digital Spy]].