Gwen Taylor set to join EastEnders

Gwen Taylor is joining EastEnders as a straight-talking grandmother.

The actress will play Violet Highway, "who has no qualms about putting people in their place".

Taylor, known for Duty Free, Barbara, and A Bit Of A Do, said of signing up for the BBC One soap: 

I remember when the first episodes of EastEnders launched and I was desperate to be in it. Now after all these years, here I am playing a wonderful character. It's fantastic and the cast are great, everybody has treated me so well and I feel extremely welcome.

She will play Stuart and Callum's grandmother and arrives in Albert Square in the run-up to Ben and Callum's wedding.

The soap's executive producer Jon Sen added: "Having Gwen join the show is an honour, she's the perfect actress to play the multi-faceted Violet Highway, a grandmother not to be messed with. Stuart and Callum are sure to find this out the hard way when she arrives in Walford for Callum's big day and they'll no doubt be wanting her visit to be fleeting but Violet definitely has other ideas. We welcome Gwen to Walford and look forward to the audience watching her make her mark."

Taylor's first scenes as Violet Highway will air this spring.