Kathy Beale outside EastEnders’ first gay bar The Prince Albert (EastEnders/BBC/PA)
EastEnders star Kathy Beale is ready to open Walford’s first gay bar – after using the windfall from a valuable necklace to buy and convert The Albert pub.
The cafe worker, played by Gillian Taylforth, sold a necklace her son Ben Mitchell gave her before he left for France earlier this year.
And after discovering its worth she decides to use the money to attain the lease for the pub and reopen it as The Prince Albert, a first for Walford’s gay community.
Gillian Taylforth plays Kathy Beale in EastEnders (BBC)
Beale wears a feather boa as she poses next to the venue’s sign – a top hat-wearing face with lipstick and a beauty spot – in a first image of the venue’s entrance.
Previously run by Kim Fox and Vincent Hubbard as The Albert, it was Aidan Maguire who last owned the bar after strong-arming Vincent into selling it to him.
In its new guise, The Prince Albert will offer an alternative to The Queen Vic, providing a space for the show’s LGBT characters such as Bernadette Taylor, played by Clair Norris, and Tina Carter, played by Luisa Bradshaw-White.
Kathy Beale to reopen The Albert as EastEnders’ first gay bar
