After almost a decade of staring in BBC One's hit soap EastEnders, could Linda Carter - as played by Kellie Bright - finally be waving goodbye to Albert Square for good?
Tonight's (May 18) episode is expected to reveal all after viewers saw jealous Janine Butcher offer the landlady £25,000 to get her out of Mick Carter's life on Tuesday, May 17.
As the Walford legend weighs up her options, Linda counters Janine's offer by saying she wants double the money £50,000 to which scheming Janine says she will provide so long as Linda leaves Albert Square tomorrow.
Linda, who has had some rocky times on the show thanks to her relationship with Danny Dyer's Mick, from alcoholism to being falsely accused of attempted murder.
She is now seen getting ready to leave the square, leaving fans questioning whether the 45-year-old really is preparing to exit the show.
But unlike her character, it would seem that Kellie's life off-air hasn't been quite as rough as that of Linda's.
From actor husband to nearly giving birth in a car, here's a look at Kellie's family life away from Albert Square.
Family life
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Away from from the cameras, Kellie, 45, boasts an idyllic home life with her three sons, Freddy, Rudy and Gene, with husband Paul Stocker.
Kellie Bright was born to her father, Alan Bright, and her mother, Denise Bright, who both welcomed the birth of their daughter on July 1, 1976, in Brentwood, England.
Prior to her acting stint in EastEnders, Kellie worked as a waitress, receptionist, and shop assistant. She is also known for playing roles in Ali G Indahouse (2002) and Xenoblade Chronicles (2010).
Kellie originally auditioned for the role of Tanya Branning on EastEnders, but Jo Joyner was cast instead. Kellie would then however go on to win the role of Linda Carter on the soap opera severn years later.
Her role as Linda led her to win the British Soap Award for Best Actress and Best Dramatic Performance in 2015.
Actor husband
Viewers may recognise Kellie's husband, Paul, who has starred in a variety of British TV stints over the years - including a very brief cameo as a police officer in Walford.
Proud Kellie tweeted the news, urging fans to watch out for her hubby as he grilled Bobby Beale over the killing of his sister Lucy, which was the main storyline on the soap at the time.
He also had a role in Keira Knightley and James McCavoy flick Atonement, as well as in two other British soaps, Casualty and Doctors.
Age gap
Things haven't always been smooth sailing for the acting couple, as their seven-year age gap has caused some strain and led to a temporary split.
In an interview with OK! magazine, Kellie said there was a time when couple's relationship was quite rocky.
She added: "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 they reunited and the pair tied the knot in 2014, in the tiny hamlet of Trelill, Cornwall at a star-studded bash.
Three sons
Kellie and Paul are proud parents of three sons - Freddy, 9, Gene, 4, and Rudy, who was born last year.
Her first son, Freddie, was conceived naturally and was born in December 2011. Her second child, Gene, came along on 21 November 2016 after the couple adopted the IVF method for conceiving. Following the birth of Gene, the duo froze three embryos.
Despite two failed attempts of pregnancy after Gene, Kellie later announced she was carrying her third child, Rudy, who she gave birth to in September 2021.
In an previous interview with the Mirror, the EastEnders actress 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."
Kellie also revealed that there will be no more babies after Rudy.
"I do feel very lucky I’ve got to experience it again. But now, 100%, I feel the family is complete," she said.
Almost giving birth in a car
Kellie says her second son Gene was almost born in a car as revealed she wasn’t expecting her labour to happen as quickly as it did.
After waking up early in the morning due to experiencing labour pains, she said when she got into the car to travel to the hospital she started to think the baby could arrive very soon.
Speaking to OK! Magazine, Kellie said: “I was so uncomfortable sitting in the seating the contractions were coming quite quickly at the point. But of course it was school run time so we got stuck in traffic.
“When we arrived at the hospital, a midwife could see I was in established labour - about 5cm dilated - so she took me straight to a delivery room."
She added: "About 20 minutes after our arrival at 9am, my waters broke and the midwife said I was much further along than she thought.”"
EastEnders airs tonight ( May 18) at 7:30pm on BBC One.
