Coronation Street’s Toyah Battersby’s real life famous ex and new romance with co-star

Coronation Street’s Toyah Battersby is facing a very challenging time – not only has she been diagnosed with germ cell ovarian cancer and is currently in hospital awaiting surgery, the character has also embarked on a secret affair with her on-screen sister’s partner.

Nick Tilsley, who is in a relationship with Toyah’s sister, Leanne, has remained at her side throughout her cancer ordeal and has declared his love for her. Meanwhile, Leanne is being targeted by cult The Institute and has been distancing herself both from Nick and Toyah. The drama for the trio has increased this week and Toyah’s future is far from certain.

Away from life on the cobbles actress Georgia Taylor, who has also had a starring role in Casualty, not only has a real life famous ex but has also embarked a romance with one of her co-stars. The pair were a couple on Coronation Street as Toyah married Imran Habeeb, played by Charlie de Melo, before he was killed in a car crash caused by his bride. However, behind the scenes the pair were also in their own relationship.

Speaking in an interview with Digital Spy, Georgia admitted that she didn’t expect the soap to become such a big part of her life when she first joined as Toyah in 1997. She said: “When I joined the show I was on a five-month contract and I didn’t see anything beyond that. So the fact that it’s really shaped so much of my life and my personal life is quite extraordinary. It really is a gift and it makes that place even more special to me.

“Going away and coming back, meeting Charlie, being reunited with Jane (Danson, who plays Toyah’s stepsister Leanne Battersby) at work and now being back up north near my family, I just feel incredibly lucky and thankful for the people that the show has brought into my life.”

Charlie isn’t the only fellow actor that Georgia has been in a relationship with in the past either. Georgia used to be with actor Mark Letheren but they called time on their relationship in 2022. He played journalist Simon Kitson in the ITV drama The Bill and played counsellor Ben Harding in BBC One’s Casualty. He also had an ongoing role as DS Kevin Geoffries in the ITV crime drama Wire in the Blood.

It was on the set of Casualty that the former couple are said to have met in 2008. Mark has now swapped acting for photography and uses Instagram to show off his impressive work. Georgia first made her debut in Corrie as Toyah at just 17-years-old, back in 1997, along with Janice and Les Battersby and Les’ daughter Leanne. Toyah later left the Street in 2003 after finding out that her boyfriend John Arnley had cheated on her with her best friend Maria Sutherland, leading Georgia to take on a few other acting roles. The actress from Wigan joined the cast of Casualty as doctor Ruth Winters in 2007 and she was a regular until 2011. She also made appearances in Where the Heart is, Law and Order: UK and Life on Mars.