14 July 2023 , 10:10
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EastEnders star Tanya Franks has been thrust into the spotlight once again as news of her romance with Barbara Windsor's widower Scott Mitchell has emerged.
The actress, who BBC viewers will know as Rainie Cross when she joined the soap in 2007 before marrying Stewart Highway in 2020, has been a familiar face across soaps and TV dramas throughout her career.
Tanya played Tanya Branning’s troubled sister Rainie Cross, who appeared in short periods to stir up trouble for the Brannings on Albert Square from 2007 to 2008, 2010 to 2011, 2014 to 2015.
She then joined the soap full time from 2018, but Rainie left Walford in August 2022 with husband Stewart and their son Roland.
We've looked at who the actress is and her personal life including a famous ex partner and embracing a sober lifestyle as well as her new found romance with Barbara Windsor's husband Scott...
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Family life
Tanya has previously spoken about her stepdad Derek, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2013 aged 81, and his confusion of seeing Tanya's on-screen character Rainie.
Tanya first joined EastEnders as Rainie in 2007 (BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)In 2019, Tanya explained: "My family and I will all be sitting down to watch the EastEnders Christmas special together this year – it’s an important part of anyone’s festive season, even more so if you’re in it!
"But it can cause confusion for my stepfather Derek. Because now when he watches EastEnders, he sometimes gets muddled between fact and fiction.When I’m not there, he’ll watch me on TV and say to my mum, 'Is Tanya still in the bathroom?'"
She added: "Because change is happening, and I want to spend the time with Derek as much as I hope he wants to spend the time with us. While we can still enjoy celebrations together, let’s do it, I want to keep hold of these moments."
Famous ex-husband
Tanya has previously been married to fellow actor James Barriscale, who fans may also recognise from EastEnders as well as ITV's police drama The Bill, which ended in 2010.
James appeared in five episodes of EastEnders, playing character Jonathan Malnet who was the adoptive father of Jade Green, making his first appearance in 2015.
James has also been in films such as The Death of Stalin and Terminator: Dark Fate.
The pair were still pictured together last year and the date or cause of their split isn't known.
Going alcohol-free
Tanya's on screen character has battled addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine.
Rainie's addiction struggles centered around many of her soap storylines and the troubled sibling of Tanya Branning (played by Jo Joyner) was embroiled in Phil Mitchell's crack cocaine addiction storyline in 2010 to 2011. However, in recent years Rainie has got sober and has supported her husband Stewart Highway in his own addiction battles.
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Rainie and Stewart battled addictions on the soap (BBC / Kieron McCarron)But for the actress, Rainie's life couldn't be further removed from Tanya's own lifestyle. The star doesn't drink and has given up wheat and sugar as part of a healthy regime.
Explaining her decision in an interview in 2018 to the Mirror, Tanya said: "I had friends who were giving up alcohol and I didn’t want to drink when I was with them. And I’d started feeling lethargic on long days filming, and wondered if it was something I was eating. So I gave up lots of things. I’ve never looked back."
Past TV roles
As an actress, Tanya is well known for her portrayal of Rainie in EastEnders, but the star has appeared across other TV dramas and soaps, too.
Tanya started out her TV career as Karen Ellis in the Channel 5 soap, Family Affairs.
After this she had a short appearance in BBC's Holby City before joining ITV police drama The Bill as DI Morell in 2004.
Alongside her part-time EastEnders role, Tanya has continued to act in several miniseries and short film projects for a number of years before landing the role as Lucy Stephens in the first two seasons of Broadchurch.
She later appeared in episodes of Chewing Gum and Silent Witness, before joining the BBC One soap full-time in 2018.
Finding love with Barbara Windsor's widow
Scott Mitchell, who was married to EastEnders star Barbara Windsor until her death in 2020, went official with his romance with Tanya whilst on holiday in Greece this week.
According to a source, Scott is believed to be "truly happy" despite fearing he might "never find another."
The couple confirmed their romance whilst on holiday in Greece (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Families and friends of both Scott and Tanya are said to be happy for them both.
Speaking of finding love again, Scott told The Sun: "Life feels really good right now," before adding: "Life feels really good right now and we are enjoying some special time together."
A source also told the newspaper: "His and Barbara’s friends are delighted he’s found someone to share his life with. It’s fairly early days but Scott is cautiously now looking forward to the future. They made the decision to update their wider circles while on holiday in Greece and everyone was over the moon."
The source added that the new couple are "taking things slowly" but there's "so much friendship and respect".