Eva Rebecca Pope (born 16 November 1967) is an English actress, best known for her portrayal of longest-serving headmistress Rachel Mason in '' Waterloo Road'', and appearances in '' Coronation Street'', '' Dream Team'', '' Baby Boys'' and ''

Hetty Feather ''Hetty Feather'' is a book by English author Jacqueline Wilson. It is about a young red-haired girl who was left by her mother at the Foundling Hospital as a baby and follows her story as she lives in a foster home before returning to the Fou ...

''.

Early life and education

Eva Pope was born in

Appley Bridge Appley Bridge is a small, affluent village crossing the borders of Greater Manchester and West Lancashire, England. It is located off Junction 27 of the M6 motorway and is nestled in the Douglas Valley alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. ...

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

on 16 November 1967. She trained to be an actress at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to: * Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname), people with the surnam ...

, graduating in 1988.

Career

Pope's first major role was playing the villainous Tanya Pooley in the ITV

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored b ...

'' Coronation Street'' from 1993 to 1994. Since then, she has made appearances in ''

Cold Feet Cold feet is a phrase that refers to a person not going through with an action, particularly one which requires long term commitment, due to fear, uncertainty, and doubt. A person is said to be "getting cold feet" when, after previously committin ...

'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'', '' Heartbeat'', ''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their mo ...

'' (as Claire Brightwell), ''

Men of the World ''Men of the World'' was a 1990s BBC1 situation comedy which starred David Threlfall and John Simm. Production details Written by Daniel Peacock – who also appeared as the character Gilby Watson. – ''Men of the World'' was directed by Terry K ...

'', ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and p ...

'', ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster ** Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known a ...

'', '' Strictly Confidential'', '' Adventure Inc.'', '' Vincent'' (as Cathy Gallagher), '' Bad Girls'' as prison governess Frances Myers, ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

'', '' Sorted'', '' Spooks: Code 9'' and the film '' Shadow Man''. From November 2007 to July 2010, she appeared as headteacher Rachel Mason in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road''."Waterloo Road – Eva Pope plays Rachel Mason"
Press release at BBC web site Pope's theatre credits include roles in ''

The Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. ...

'', ''Turkey Time'' and ''

Hobson's Choice A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one thing is actually offered. The term is often used to describe an illusion that multiple choices are available. The most well known Hobson's choice is "I'll give you a choice: take it or leave ...

''. She is a regular performer and was part of the original cast of ''

Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners ''Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners'' is an anthology-style play compiled and written by '' Carry On...'' writer Norman Hudis and producer Marc Sinden, who is also the director. It was originally devised by Sinden as a female rival to the ...

'' and in November 2007, appeared at the Théâtre Princesse Grace, Monte Carlo, directed by

Marc Sinden Marcus Andrew Sinden (born 9 May 1954) is an English actor and film & theatre director and producer. Sinden has worked in film and theatre (mainly in London's West End) as both actor and producer and directed the documentary series '' Great W ...

, as part of his British Theatre Season, Monaco. In March 2011, Pope starred as Ellie in the BBC One daytime drama ''32 Brinkburn Street''. She starred in ''Being Sold the Movie'', which premiered on 19 June 2011. On 13 August 2011, Eva Pope starred as policewoman Simone Grayson on ''

'' in the first episode of series 26. She appeared in the third series of '' Moving On'' on 16 November 2011 playing Michelle. In 2017, she appeared in Season 20 Episodes 5 and 6 of the BBC forensic drama series ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel M ...

'' as DI Heather Ashton. She played Matron "Gertie" Bottomly in

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7– ...

's adaptation of ''

'', based on the book of the same name by

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her lar ...

, for five years. In 2019, Pope appeared in ''Deep Cuts'' as Bridget McFadden. Pope is also a noted voice-over artist whose credits include

Raymond Blanc Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef. Blanc is the chef patron at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the '' Good ...

's ''Kitchen Secrets'' and a number of audiobooks.

Personal life

In 1994, Pope was married to

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscip ...

er Laurence Lassalle, with whom she has a daughter. They divorced in 2004. Pope is a grandmother. She is a vegan.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Profile at Corrie.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Eva 1967 births Living people Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art English stage actresses English television actresses English soap opera actresses People from Appley Bridge Actresses from Lancashire 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses