BBC EastEnders Linda Carter’s emotional real life from IVF journey to Hollywood actor husband

EastEnders’ Linda Carter has been through a tough time on Albert Square, as has the actress who plays her, Kellie Bright.

As fans will no doubt be aware, Linda is currently dealing with a terrible dilemma following Dean Wicks’ (Matt Di Angelo) cruel ultimatum. Stunned viewers were recently left on a classic soap cliffhanger after George Knight (Colin Salmon) overheard Dean taunting Linda about her rape ordeal, and the harrowing drama only ramped up from there.

A heated exchange ensured, and evil Dean proceeded to goad furious George into slapping him at the top of The Queen Vic staircase, before losing his balance and tumbling down the stairs. Frantic Linda later visited injured Dean in hospital, begging him not to press charges against George, but it wasn’t long before the villain decided to turn the situation to his advantage.

To Linda’s horror, Dean issued her with a devastating ultimatum – he would keep away from the police station, as long as she told everyone that she’d lied about him raping her in 2014. As Linda’ confronts her past traumas yet again, we take a look at actor Kellie’s life away from Walford, from her IVF struggles to her marriage to a fellow actor.

Rarely seen Hollywood husband

Away from set, Kellie, 47 enjoys a private life with actor husband Paul Stocker, who previously appeared in the acclaimed 2017 romantic war drama Atonement, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. As well as parts in EastEnders, Doctors, and Casualty, Paul’s impressive CV also boasts roles in the BAFTA award-winning Mark of Cain (2007), plus stage productions, such as Two Noble Kinsmen, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Six Degrees of Separation. Indeed, Paul and Kellie first met through their shared love of theatre, with sparks flying behind the scenes of a play they were working on together.

Kellie was 31 when she first locked eyes with Paul, who was just 24 at the time, and she initially feared their age gap may prove to be too much of a hurdle. As Kellie, now 47, shared during an interview with 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.”

Love triumphed, however, and, in 2014, Kellie and Paul 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.”

IVF difficulties

After welcoming eldest child Freddie to the world in December 2011, Kellie and Paul opted for IVF route when trying for their second, with son number two Gene arriving in November 2016. The couple then chose to freeze three embryos, using this method to conceive their third child Rudy, who was born in September 2021.

Opening up candidly about her personal 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.” The soap star went on to confirm that she feels her family is now ‘complete’, with no plans for a fourth addition to their household.