Linda Carter hasn’t had a great 2024, but actress Kellie Bright is a world away from her soap character as she leads a quiet life with her TV husband and their three sons
EastEnders star Kellie Bright has been a soap favourite since arriving in Walford as Linda Carter over 10 years ago. The Queen Vic landlady has been through tough times over the past two years, starting with losing her husband Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) on Christmas Day when he jumped off a cliff.
Then last Christmas, Linda killed Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) and faced her rapist Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) in court after framing him for the murder. With secrets unravelling, Linda relapsed and turned back to the bottle with devastating consequences for everyone living in Walford.
Kellie’s famous husband
Kellie is married to Paul Stocker, whom she met when they starred in a play together in 2007, Paul was 24 at the time, while the actress was seven years his senior at 31. In 2014, they tied the knot in Trelill, Cornwall during a ceremony attended by her co-stars, including Danny Dyer.
The couple went on to welcome three sons; Freddie born in 2011, Gene born in 2016 and Rudy who they welcomed in 2021.
Paul’s job
Paul is also an actor, having starred in Atonement with James McAvoy and Keira Knightley. He’s also appeared in The Mark of Cain, Scent of a Woman and joined his wife in EastEnders as DS Howard South in 2016.
Paul made his second appearance in EastEnders in 2021 when he played a thug who robbed The Queen Vic. He has also appeared on stage in productions including The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time as Mr Thompson and Six Degrees of Separation.
Kellie previously opened up on her concerns about their age gap which even led to a brief split. The actress said in 2016: “Reality kicked in. I was 31 and wanted to have kids, and Paul was 24 and didn’t at the time. I felt it wasn’t fair on Paul – I worried he’d resent me.”
But Kellie, who admitted she “loved Paul” before they had even kissed, couldn’t tune out her passion for her man for long. She added: “After a bit of head space, I realised I was cutting my nose to spite my face. I thought – what are you doing? Take your foot off the gas.”
Miracle baby
After revealing baby three would be her last, Kellie confessed she had struggled to fall pregnant with Rudy. After becoming pregnant naturally with her first child, she later relied on IVF to conceive their second child, Gene.
This led to her freezing three extra embryos at the time so she could use them further down the line. She failed with two of the embryos, but thankfully, it was third time lucky when she conceived “miracle” son Rudy.
Speaking exclusively to OK! in 2021 to announce she was pregnant, Kellie said: “So this baby inside me now was the last one we had – the last chance of a pregnancy, because at 44 we were not going through IVF again. I believe it was meant to be.”
Hidden talent
Away from Albert Square, Kellie has an unusual talent she pursues in her spare time. The actress is skilled at crocheting and has recently been making special blankets to raise money for a children’s cancer charity with help from her EastEnders co-stars and celebrities such as Tom Daley, Tom Fletcher, and Giovanna Fletcher.
Just last week, Kellie revealed a finished blanket which had colourful crochet patches sewn together, some from herself and others who have contributed to the masterpiece. Showing off the blanket in a video, Kellie wrote: “Here is @misskeeleyhawes GORGEOUS blanket!!! I am so in love with this one!!! (I know I say it about all the blankets, but I really do) thank you to everyone who sent me a granny square! This blanket and all the others will be available soon to bid for! And raise lots of money for @skc365 #crochetforkidscancer.”