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 ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', '' Dream Team'', '' Bad Girls'' and '' Hetty Feather''.

Early life and education

Eva Pope was born in Appley Bridge,

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

on 16 November 1967. She trained to be an actress at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1988.

Career

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

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

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

Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...

'', ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'', '' Heartbeat'', '' Peak Practice'' (as Claire Brightwell), '' Men of the World'', ''

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 (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'', '' Casualty'', '' Strictly Confidential'', '' Adventure Inc.'', ''

Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

'' (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 conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...

'', '' 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 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

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'', ''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 CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, 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 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

'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. Pope is also a noted voice-over artist whose credits include Raymond Blanc'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 that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

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 Actors from the Borough of West Lancashire