Eve Birch

Eve Jenson (also Birch) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Emmerdale'', played by Suzanne Shaw. She made her first on-screen appearance on 31 August 2001. The character was originally played by Raine Davison from 2001 to 2002, reappearing briefly in 2006. In early 2010, series producer Gavin Blyth recast the role and Shaw took over. Eve was introduced as the granddaughter of Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox). In April 2011, it was announced that Shaw had quit her role of Eve and she departed on 2 August 2011.

Casting

On 10 July 2001, Rick Fulton of the '' Daily Record'' reported that seventeen-year-old actress Davison had joined the cast as Eve alongside Sammy Winward, who plays Katie Sugden. Fulton said the girls would "set pulses racing among ''Emmerdale's'' teenage bratpack." Davison was introduced as the rebellious granddaughter of established character, Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox). Of joining ''Emmerdale'', Davison said "Imagine how I felt when I won a part in my favourite soap. Eve is a strong-willed girl and is a part I can really get my teeth into." A show spokesman said Davison and Winward were launched together to show viewers that they have strong teenage storylines for their teenage following. Davison made her debut screen appearance as Eve on 31 August 2001. She remained a series regular until her departure in 2002. Davison returned to the show for three episodes in October 2006, when Edna attended Eve's wedding to James Jenson (Ben Peyton).

Recast

In January 2010, it was announced that Eve would be returning to the show after a nearly four-year absence with a new actress in the role. Series producer Gavin Blyth stated in an interview with Digital Spy that he auditioned 50 to 60 actresses for the role, one of them being former Hear'Say singer and West End theatre star Suzanne Shaw who made the trip to Yorkshire from Manchester where she was playing Judy Haynes in the musical'' White Christmas''. The decision to cast Shaw was announced on 29 January. Shaw signed a year-long contract and debuted on 2 April 2010.

Suzanne Shaw has described Eve as "feisty and very flirtatious. She's been left with a lot of debt in France and she turns up in the Dales because she has nowhere else to go - she knows that Edna's a real soft touch and wouldn't leave her own family at the front door. Eve does lie to start with because she doesn't want anyone to know why she's actually there - she doesn't want to let everyone know that she's failed again. Edna finds out the truth, though, and demands to know why she lied. Because she's going through a break-up, she deals with it by flirting with the men of the village. She finds it easier to get on with guys than girls - she's quite sarcastic and to-the-point."

Discussing the audition proses Shaw said "I got asked before Christmas to audition for the part of Eve. I was asked to do a screen test, but it got snowed off because of all the bad weather over Christmas. I didn't hear anything for ages and I thought it wasn't going to happen, and then just a few weeks before I started filming they offered me the part. It was a lovely surprise. They auditioned quite a lot of actresses for the role. I was up against some strong contenders so it was quite nerve-wracking when I went in, but Gavin Blyth, the producer, was so lovely and made me feel really at ease."

Character development

Affair with Carl King

In 2010, it was revealed that Eve would have an affair with Carl King, played by Tom Lister. Commenting on the storyline, Shaw said "I was really excited when I found out Eve would be having an affair with Carl but I quickly realised it would make me very unpopular with the majority of Emmerdale fans because everyone loves Carl and Chas together. So I’m preparing myself for all the trouble it’s going to cause. It’s a great storyline and I have no idea how it will all turn out. There’s also the small matter of Chas. It’s going to take some doing for Carl to keep it from her. It would be a brave or a stupid man who tests Chas but Carl seems determined to give it a go and Eve certainly isn’t one to hold back. One thing’s for sure, if Chas does uncover Carl’s dirty secret he’ll be wise to sleep with one eye open!"

In September 2010 Shaw and Lister teased of the storyline Shaw said "Quite a bit. We don't quite know what's going to happen around Christmas time but there's something juicy coming up." also Lister said "It's all going well so far. I'm having a great time and I think it's going to play out a bit longer. We'll see whether he gets found out or not." Lucy Pargeter, who plays Chas hinted that her firebrand alter ego may react in a surprising way if she eventually rumbles the affair. she said "It's either going to be the usual Chas thing or we'll go against the grain and do something not necessarily expected, but who knows, we've got a long time to run it yet."

Departure

In April 2011, it was announced that Shaw was to leave ''Emmerdale''. Of her departure, Shaw said "Playing Eve has been a wonderful experience for me. I have had the opportunity to work with some incredibly talented people and to learn from them. After much soul-searching we decided that as a family we wanted to be based in one place at this point in our lives. My family must come first and I have therefore decided to leave the show in the summer."

Storylines

2001–2006

Eve is the daughter of Peter Birch (Philip Bird). After Eve's mother died, Peter moved to France due to his work commitments. He fell in love with a woman called Jacqueline and they later married. Eve disliked her stepmother and when Peter and Jacqueline were going through a rough patch, he was concerned about the effect that their difficulties were having on Eve, so he sent her to stay with his mother, Eve's grandmother Edna Birch to do her A Levels. Eve was 17 and had been living in France for six years. Upon arriving in Emmerdale, Eve befriends the other teenagers in the village. She sets her sights on Marc Reynolds (Anthony Lewis), despite him being involved with Donna Windsor (Verity Rushworth). Against Donna's wishes, Eve pursues Marc and they become a couple, later sleeping together.

In September 2001, whilst on a night out in Hotten, Eve, Marc, Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher), Robert Sugden (Karl Davies), Ollie Reynolds (Vicky Binns), and Katie Addyman steal a car after missing the last bus home. They are involved in a hit and run accident, which results in the death of their headmistress, Miss Strickland (Alex Hall). Marc was the one driving but Eve keeps a cool head and encourages the gang to lie about the accident. In 2002, Eve continues to keep the web of lies going until Marc confesses and is imprisoned. Eve and the other teenagers are given community service. Eve’s true colours come to her grandmother's attention when Eve kicks Edna's Yorkshire terrier

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