EastEnders star AXED after eight years – and it's the end of an era
AN EastEnders favourite has been axed after eight years on the soap - bringing an end to one of the show's most high-profile families.
Actress Clair Norris - who plays Bernie Taylor in the BBC soap - will be leaving later this year in a dramatic storyline.
3
3
The star has played Bernie, the daughter of controversial Karen Taylor, since the family made their debut in 2017.
A source said: 'Every time a soap gets a new boss they want to make their own changes - it's nothing personal.
'The writing has been on the wall for Bernie for some time so it wasn't really a surprise to Clair.
'She was the last Taylor standing and it's time to close the chapter on them and let Clair go on to do other things.'
Another insider said: 'Everyone at EastEnders loves Clair but often characters have to leave for new stories to begin, that's the nature of soap.
'Clair will be missed but she will always be part of the EastEnders family.'
An EastEnders spokeswoman confirmed the news saying: 'We can confirm that Clair will be leaving EastEnders later this year and we wish her all the best for the future.'
With Clair gone, and Felix actor Matthew Morrison also leaving soon as The Sun previously revealed, all traces of the controversial family will be gone.
Karen Taylor left last year alongside Mitch and their grandchildren Mia and Mackenzie.
Son Keanu was killed off in 2023 in The Six plot, daughter Chantelle was murdered by husband Gray Atkins in 2020, and son Keegan moved to Germany in 2022.
EastEnders' Keanu Taylor's body found by his horrified sister Bernie
The family of benefits-claiming layabouts were controversial when they arrived in Walford in 2017, with fans being fiercely divided.
However, The Sun revealed last week that while the Taylors will soon be gone, the Branning family is getting a boost.
EastEnders' 40th anniversary cameos so far
With the 40th anniversary of EastEnders coming up, fans are looking forward to some more incredible cameos from iconic faces of Walford's past. But who have we had so far?
Tracy-Ann Oberman - Oberman returned as Chrissie Watts, a character she last played nearly two decades ago.
Paul Bradley - Bradley returned as Nigel Bates, a character he last played over 25 years ago.
Micheal French - French returned as David Wicks, a character he last played two decades ago.
Patsy Palmer - Palmer returned as Bianca Jackson, a character she last played in 2019.
Ricky Groves - Groves returned as Garry Hobbs, a character who has not been seen since 2009.
Cliff Parisi - Parisi returned as Minty Peterson, a character who was last seen on the square in 2010.
Ross Kemp - Kemp has returned to play Grant Mitchell, a character he first played in 1990. The BBC has described Kemp's storyline as "explosive". Kemp said it was an "absolute honour" to return to the show.
Other aspects of the EastEnders 40th anniversary celebration include: A wedding between fan favorites, A huge explosion at the Queen Vic, and A live interactive episode.
Actor Jake Wood is returning to the show as Max Branning after a four year absence.
The BBC also accidentally leaked a major spoiler earlier this week that has shown the Queen Vic being put up to auction just weeks after it was rebuilt and reopened after the February explosion.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Dragonfly review – haunting, genre-defying drama of lonely city living
Twenty years ago, Paul Andrew Williams announced himself as a smart new British talent with his ferocious gangland picture London to Brighton, and his creativity has continued in film and TV ever since. His new film is a haunted, social-realist drama with elements of Mike Leigh but also moments of thriller and even horror. Williams isn't shy of stabbing us with an old-fashioned jump scare towards the end, which in fact challenges the audiences with its refusal of categorisation. There are two superb lead performances from Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn and an outstanding supporting turn from Jason Watkins. Dragonfly is about loneliness and alienation and about the eternal mystery of other people, the fear of intimacy and the unknowable existence of urban neighbours. Elsie, played by Blethyn, is an older woman who is quite capable of independent living in her bungalow, but a recent fall and an injured wrist has meant that her middle-aged son (Watkins), all too obviously to compensate for not visiting that often, has paid for daily visits from a private agency nurses. They are overworked and not doing an especially good job. Really, she doesn't need these nurses and by enduring them, Elsie is shouldering the burden of her son's guilt. Meanwhile nextdoor neighbour Colleen, played by Riseborough, is a continuingly strange presence. She is a melancholy, withdrawn figure, evidently on benefits and living with her huge American bull terrier, uncompromisingly named Sabre. Williams shows us that she is effectively living in a kind of platonic relationship, or mariage blanc, with this dog; the film periodically gives us startling shots of Sabre's colossal body in a kind of domestic nakedness sprawled on Colleen's bed. In a manner that may be insidious or predatory or just friendly and compassionate, Colleen befriends Elsie; the latter overcomes her initial nervousness of Sabre and she appreciates Colleen's forthright offer of help. Colleen goes down to the shops to get groceries for Elsie and after a few such trips they agree that what would be easiest would be if Colleen simply gets Elsie's debit card and Elsie gives her the pin number. Of course, the film allows us to suspect the worst and then suspect the worst of ourselves for suspecting it. Colleen seems to be unhappy and damaged but well-meaning, especially when she (for a laugh) buys them both a two-way radio so they can easily keep in contact – but then uses this radio to talk to Elsie late at night and semi-intentionally to allow bewildered Elsie to hear what's happening in Colleen's house. It is a riveting dual portrait of two gloomy people who really have, in a strange and dysfunctional way, found a new way of interacting and – importantly – this is a triangular relationship: Elsie, Colleen and the vast Sabre. But with a terrible inevitability, Elsie's uptight busybody son John (Watkins) arrives and there are awful consequences to a conversation he has with Colleen which Williams only shows us in long shot, withholding the truth about what he's saying. It's a stark, fierce, wonderfully acted film. Dragonfly screened at the Tribeca film festival.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
EuroMillions: UK's biggest lottery prize is still up for grabs
There is still the chance for someone to secure the biggest lottery prize the UK has ever seen, after Friday's EuroMillions draw had no winners. The jackpot had rolled over to an estimated £208m, after Tuesday's £199m draw - which also would have been a record-breaking amount - had no winners. The winner would instantly become richer than Adele and Harry Styles, while also bagging the top spot on the National Lottery's biggest wins list. Housing raffles take UK by storm - how likely are you to win? Andy Carter, senior winners' adviser at Allwyn, said: "The EuroMillions jackpot is now capped, so any money that would have gone into increasing the jackpot now boosts prizes in the next winning prize tier. "We could see multiple UK players banking huge prizes for matching just the five main numbers and one Lucky Star." The previous largest prize pot was won by an anonymous UK ticket-holder, who took home £195m on 19 July 2022. Just two months earlier, Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, won £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket. At the time, Joe was a communications sales engineer, and Jess ran a hairdressing salon with her sister. Mr Thwaite said he woke up at 5am as usual, and checked his phone to see an email saying, "Good news, you have won a prize". But he did not immediately wake his wife, choosing to let her sleep in. "I saw how much and I didn't know what to do," Mr Thwaite said. "I couldn't go back to sleep, I didn't want to wake Jess up, so I just laid there for what seemed like forever. I spent some time searching for property with no budget limit, which was a novelty!" When his wife woke up, she assumed the National Lottery app was wrong. 1:24 In February last year, Richard and Debbie Nuttall were revealed as the UK winners of a £61m EuroMillions jackpot - who at first thought they had only won £2.60. The couple from Lancashire split the £123m prize with a winner in Spain.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Arrgh you joking? Tesco pensioner stuns shoppers by bringing his pet PARROT with him to buy groceries
On a balance of probabilities, parrots are more likely to be spotted walking the plank than walking down the ready meals aisle of a major supermarket. But that was exactly the scene that greeted one customer, who was left stunned after spotting a pensioner with a colourful parrot perched upon his shoulder in his local Tesco. Named Bella, the 12-year-old exotic bird prompted the stunned man to capture his unusual encounter on video. Posting the footage to X, the astonished man can't help but exclaim, 'That is something unbelievable. Oh my God,' as he spots the red-and-green macaw. 'See the parrot, man, in Tesco,' he continues. After approaching the otherwise unperturbed owner, the man says: 'How are we uncle, you OK? Lovely parrot, man. How old is it?' After being told the bird is aged 12, the curious bystander asks whether the bird speaks. 'She does when she wants,' replies her owner. Man brings his parrot along with him on his Tesco shop 🦜🛒 (TikTok: mr_w1cked1) — UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) June 6, 2025 He went on to add that she could fly off 'if she wants to', but remained firmly on the man's shoulder as he casually walked down each aisle to pick up his groceries. 'That is good man, you've trained her well,' the surprised customer told the bird owner, before bidding him farewell. Green-winged macaws are the second largest parrots next to the hyacinth macaw and can reach flight speeds of up to 35mph. They have a very powerful beak which can generate a pressure of 2000 psi (pounds per square inch) and have the ability to crack open incredibly hard-shelled nuts, such as Brazil nuts with ease. Parrots mainly eat seeds, fruits, blossoms, buds, leaves, berries, nuts and sometimes bark - and do indeed enjoy the occasional cracker as well.
