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, Bad Girls and Hetty Feather.
Early life and education
Eva Pope was born in Appley Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire on 16 November 1967. She trained to be an actress at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art,1 graduating in 1988.
Career
Pope's first major role was playing the villainous Tanya Pooley in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 1993 to 1994. Since then, she has made appearances in Cold Feet, The Bill, Heartbeat, Peak Practice (as Claire Brightwell), Men of the World, Holby City, Casualty, Strictly Confidential, Adventure Inc., Vincent (as Cathy Gallagher), Bad Girls as prison governess Frances Myers, Life on Mars, Sorted, Spooks: Code 9 and the film Shadow Man.2 From November 2007 to July 2010, she appeared as headteacher Rachel Mason in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road.3
Pope's theatre credits include roles in The Comedy of Errors, Turkey Time and Hobson's Choice. She is a regular performer and was part of the original cast of Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners and in November 2007, appeared at the Théâtre Princesse Grace, Monte Carlo, directed by Marc Sinden, 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 Casualty 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 as DI Heather Ashton. From 2015 to 2020, she played Matron Gertrude Bottomly in CBBC's adaptation of Hetty Feather, based on the book of the same name by Jacqueline Wilson.
In 2019, Pope appeared in Deep Cuts as Bridget McFadden.4
Pope is also a noted voice-over artist whose credits include Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets and a number of audiobooks.5
Personal life
In 1994, Pope was married to graphic designer Laurence Lassalle, with whom she has a daughter.6 They divorced in 2004. Pope is a grandmother.7 She is a vegan.8
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Holiday Romance | Victoria | Short film |
| 2001 | Denial | Doctor | |
| 2006 | Shadow Man | Anya | |
| Splinter | Dr. Lexington | ||
| 2007 | Natasha | Elaine | |
| 2008 | Searching | Lillian | |
| 2011 | Being Sold | Lara Foster | |
| Gee Gee | Susan | Short film | |
| 2015 | Route Canal | Caroline | |
| 2016 | The Interrogation of Olivia Donovan | Sarah Hardy | |
| 2022 | Camaleonte | Arabella |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–1994 | Coronation Street | Tanya Pooley | Regular role; 142 episodes |
| 1995 | Men of the World | Becky | 5 episodes |
| 1996 | Ellington | Lara | Episode: "Matchmaker" |
| Under the Skin | Lisa | Television film | |
| Casualty | Josie Barker | Episode: "Do You Believe in Fairies?" | |
| 1997 | Heartbeat | Sharma | Episode: "Peace and Quiet" |
| Peak Practice | Sally Gillespie | Episode: "Lost Feelings" | |
| 1997–1998 | Dream Team | Stephanie Jacobs | Regular role; 64 episodes |
| 1998 | Grafters | Janice | 2 episodes |
| Cold Feet | Trixie | Series 1: Episode 3 | |
| McCallum | Dr. Charley Fielding | Episode: "Beyond Good and Evil" | |
| 1999 | Four Fathers | Kathy Starkie | TV mini-series; all 3 episodes |
| 2000 | Peak Practice | Karen | Episode: "And Then There Were Two" |
| The Bill | Geraldine/Linda | Episode: "Scoop" | |
| My Fragile Heart | Ruby Mason | Television film | |
| 2001–2002 | Peak Practice | Claire Brightwell | Main role; 13 episodes |
| 2002 | Nice Guy Eddie | Susannah King | Series 1: Episode 3 |
| 2003 | Adventure Inc. | Fiona Gray | Episode: "Legacy of a Pirate" |
| The Eustace Bros. | Catherine | Series 1: Episode 2 | |
| Holby City | Caroline Dewer | Episodes: "Love Nor Money" and "Just Getting By" | |
| 2004 | Bad Girls | Frances Myers | Main role; Series 6 (12 episodes) |
| 2005 | Vincent | Cathy Gallagher | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Jane Caulfield | Episodes: "Guardian Angel: Parts 1 & 2" |
| Sorted | Kathy | All 6 episodes | |
| Strictly Confidential | DS Angie Morton | ||
| 2007 | Life on Mars | Carol Twilling | Series 2: Episode 4 |
| 2007–2010 | Waterloo Road | Rachel Mason | Regular role; 52 episodes |
| 2008 | Spooks: Code 9 | Hamilton | Series 1: Episode 5 |
| 2010–2011 | Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets | Narrator | Television series |
| 2011 | 32 Brinkburn Street | Ellie | TV mini-series; all 5 episodes |
| Casualty | Simone Grayson | Episode: "Partners" | |
| Law & Order: UK | Renay Everett | Episode: "Line Up" | |
| Moving On | Michelle | Episode: "Punter" | |
| 2013 | Holby City | Laura Edison | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | New Tricks | Clara Bishop | Episode: "The Fame Game" |
| 2015–2020 | Hetty Feather | Matron Bottomly | Regular role; 33 episodes |
| 2016 | The Dumping Ground | Episode: "Floss the Foundling" | |
| 2017 | Silent Witness | DI Heather Ashton | Episodes: "Remembrance: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2019 | Deep Cuts | Bridget McFadden | TV mini-series; all 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Somewhere Boy | Angie | Series 1 episode 2 |
| 2023 | Maternal | Sally Thomason | Series 1 episode 2 |
External links
References
Staff (12 January 2002). "In the Frame: Eva Pope". Daily Post. ↩
"EVA’S PAST COMES BACK TO HAUNT HER" Peak Practice web site http://www.peakpracticeonline.co.uk/eva1.htm ↩
"Waterloo Road – Eva Pope plays Rachel Mason" Press release at BBC web site https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/12_december/30/waterloo8.shtml ↩
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3772456/characters/nm0691116 [user-generated source] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3772456/characters/nm0691116 ↩
"Eva Pope". anthearepresents.com. Retrieved 13 October 2022. – Lancashire actress and voiceover artist known for roles in popular TV shows such as Peak Practice, Coronation Street, Waterloo Road, Bad Girls, Silent Witness, and CBBC's Hetty Feather, and as 'Herself' in the stage production of Still Alice' https://anthearepresents.com/artist/eva-pope ↩
"EVA SO SEDUCTIVE". 22 January 2002. Archived from the original on 22 January 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20020122022239/http://www.geocities.com/pp19uk/evasoseductive.html ↩
@evapope (13 February 2022). "How lucky am I?!💖💖 A second beautiful granddaughter, Lumi (thanks my darling @eliselassalle) Patiently waiting to…" (Tweet) – via Twitter. https://x.com/evapope/status/1492985210538967049 ↩
Eva Pope [@evapope] (6 January 2018). "You know what @piersmorgan – I'm Vegan as are many of my loved ones. I also love most animals – but you're one I'd just love to see roasted on a spit. That would be justice" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 August 2022 – via Twitter. https://x.com/evapope/status/949459946495709184 ↩