BBC EastEnders Linda Carter’s real life from Hollywood star husband to IVF baby battle
As EastEnders' Linda Carter deals with the shock return of evil Dean Wicks, we take a look at the real life of the actor who plays her, from her marriage to a Hollywood star to her fight to start a longed-for family
Warning: this article references storylines some readers may find distressing
The residents of Albert Square have been left shaken by the return of EastEnders villain Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), and none more so than Linda Carter (Kellie Bright). Back in 2014, viewers were left horrified after Dean raped Linda, with the harrowing storyline depicting the devastating toll the attack took on the usually bubbly businesswoman.
Evil Dean left Walford in 2016, after managing to evade justice for his crimes, but fans of the show have long hoped he’d still get his comeuppance one way or another. Now, nearly ten years on from her ordeal, Linda has had to deal with Dean walking straight into the same kitchen where the attack took place, during what should have been a fun Halloween party for Queen Vic regulars.
As Linda deals with coming face to face with her past horrors, we take a look at actor Kellie’s life away from set, including her marriage to a Hollywood star and IVF journey.
Kellie has once again found herself at the centre of a harrowing storyline (
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The soap star is married to a fellow actor, who she met while starring in a play (
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Marriage to Hollywood star
Kellie, originally from Brentwood, Essex, is married to fellow actor Paul Stocker, who has also enjoyed plenty of notable success in his career. As well as parts in EastEnders, Doctors, and Casualty, Paul also appeared in the critically acclaimed 2017 war drama Atonement, starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, and Saoirse Ronan.
Paul’s impressive CV also boasts a role in the BAFTA award-winning Mark of Cain (2007), plus parts in various stage productions, including Two Noble Kinsmen, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Six Degrees of Separation. Indeed, it was theatre that brought Paul and Kellie together, with the couple first locking eyes while starring in a play together.
At the time of their first meeting, Kellie was 31 while Paul was just 24, and she was initially worried that their age gap may prove to be a problem. As Kellie, now 47, explained to OK! magazine: “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 that he would resent me.”
They eventually managed to work things out, however, and, in 2014, tied the knot in a “secret, intimate ceremony'” held in Trelill, Cornwall, attended by fellow EastEnders stars Danny Dyer, Maddy Hill, and Sam Strike. A source told the Mirror at the time: “Kellie is thrilled to finally marry her long-term partner. A group of EastEnders cast and crew were in attendance, including members of the Carter family, who she is very close to.”
The couple have three children, and welcomed their youngest two through IVF (
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Kellie says her family is now ‘complete’ (
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Parenthood and IVF journey
After welcoming eldest son Freddie to the world in December 2011, Kellie and Paul decided to go down the IVF route when trying for another child, giving birth to a second son Gene in November 2016. It was at this point that the couple made the choice to freeze three embryos, using this method to conceive their youngest child Rudy, who was born in September 2021.
Opening up about her IVF journey in a previous interview with the Mirror, Kellie said: “I very much have the philosophy that because of the way we’ve had our children – going through IVF and the frozen embryo transfer – they are really meant to be here. Rudy is no exception and if anything I feel it more so with him because of his journey to get here. He was the last remaining embryo and the one that made it. For whatever reason, I’m meant to bring up boys.”
In this same interview, the soap star went on to confirm that she feels her family is now “complete”, and that she and Paul don’t intend on having a fourth child.
