There are not many mothers and daughters who work together - but that's been the case for Kay Mellor and Gaynor Faye.
Starting with BBC drama Playing the Field and hugely popular ITV series Fat Friends, Gaynor appeared in a number of the TV show's written and created by her talented mum.
The popular writer, who also wrote hit series Band of Gold, In the Club and The Syndicate, sadly died at the age of 71 on Sunday.
A spokesperson for her TV production company, Rollem Productions, said: "It is with profound sadness that we announce the untimely and sudden passing of our beloved friend, mentor and colleague Kay Mellor on Sunday 15th May 2022.
"We have lost a phenomenal talent and a true luminary. We ask that you please respect the privacy of the family and friends at this time."
Gaynor, who is the daughter of Kay and her husband Anthony Mellor, began her acting career in TV shows written by her mum but then vowed to never appear in one again.
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Gaynor, who played Lauren Harris in Fat Friends, told The Mirror in 2014: "I love everything my mum does. She writes brilliant dialogue and great characters, especially strong women.
"But I’ve been in her stuff and I’ve made a conscious decision I wasn’t going to do any more. I made it as an actress in my own right and I didn’t want anyone thinking that I just did her stuff.
"Then Emmerdale came along and it’s been fantastic from day one."
Having previously starred as Judy Mallet in Coronation Street between 1995 and 1999, Gaynor joined the cast of Emmerdale in 2011 as Megan Macey.
Working in her home city of Leeds meant she was closer to her mum, who she would meet up with along with older sister Yvonne Francas every week.
Gaynor was a teenager when she started editing Kay’s scripts and she wrote two episodes of Fat Friends.
"It has its moments. You have to go in there with a different head on," explained Gaynor.
"We work well together because we can cut through the flowery behaviour and be very direct. I know her voice really well and where she’s coming from
"We don’t take offence easily but I’m truthful and sometimes that is met with a sharp look or word, which is fair enough. She understands I have her best interests at heart."
When Gaynor left Emmerdale in 2019, she explained the reason for quitting was because of a promise to her mum.
Kaye wanted her daughter to appear in the stage version of her drama, Band of Gold, which first aired on ITV in 1995.
"I was working on Emmerdale at the time and got involved in workshopping Band of Gold and people just loved it… absolutely loved it," said Gaynor.
"Then I got asked if I would be in it, but I was still in Emmerdale, so then I had to make the choice whether or not I was going to leave Emmerdale or not. That was a big choice to make.
"She [Kaye] really wanted me in it. She really liked my version of Rose so, for her, she really wanted me to do it. But it was a big decision I had to make and I didn’t make it lightly."
Despite claiming she would not work in another one of her mum's shows, Gaynor did star in the fourth series of The Syndicate last year.
Explaining why she made the U-turn, Gaynor said: "So it was one of the things, I suppose she asked me if I would play the character and I didn't want to slip back into that old, boring, 'You're only doing it because your mum has written it,' the nepotism thing.
"But I thought, 'I haven't been in her world for 13 years and I'm available and I'm an out of work actress, and the character is there.
"She's a great character and I thought, 'Am I going to sit there and watch someone else do it? No, I'm going to do it.'
"I did the usual, I auditioned and did my self-tape and the BBC said yes."
Kay was just 16-years-old when she became pregnant with eldest daughter Yvonne, who is now a very successful TV producer.
Yvonne, who has worked on the likes of Death in Paradise, explained they had a pact not to talk about work which is often broken.
During the summer holidays, "fun mum" Kay would write plays for her daughters to pergorm and they would charge friends to come and watch them.
Speaking to The Yorkshire Post in 2015, Yvonne said: "Given how successful Kay had been of course there was a pressure to do well.
"Not that it came from her. She just wanted us to be happy, but I think Gaynor and I wouldn’t be human if we didn’t feel that we had something really hard to live up to. She is a master of her craft."
Yvonne, who got a job as a runner on children's series Just Us which was written by Kaye, explained that the thing she admired most about her mum is her "energy".
"She’s always working on something, but she’s also incredibly generous with her time and that’s something you don’t necessarily get a lot of in television," she explained.
"Often if someone makes a mistake on a production that’s it, they get struck off. Not with mum. She always wants to get them in, have a chat about where it went wrong and see if help them get to the next stage. She’s a great believer in giving people a chance."
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