Maternal cancer sufferer Sally played by Eva Pope
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Maternal on ITV1: Cancer patient Sally played by Coronation Street actress Eva Pope

She played an iconic Rovers barmaid!

Eva Pope guest stars as a cancer patient on ITV’s new medical drama Maternal tonight, and you might be wondering how you recognise the star

Eva plays Sally Thomason, a cancer patient who surgeon Dr Catherine MacDiarmid is determined to not let down.

Here’s how you recognise the star and everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Eva Pope

Sally Thomason sits and smiles outside in Maternal
Eva Pope plays Sally Thomason in Maternal (Credit: ITV)

Eva Pope joins Maternal episode 2 as cancer patient Sally Thomason

You might not recognise Eva Pope as she plays cancer patient Sally Thomason in Maternal.

Dr Catherine MacDiarmid is determined to not let Sally and her daughter Jenny down as she awaits palliative surgery.

But with staff shortages, it looks like Catherine won’t have an easy time trying to get Sally into surgery.

Her daughter is actually played by a Corrie star too! Isabelle Smith played Max Turner’s love interest Sonya last year on the soap, and she joins Maternal tonight as Sally’s daughter.

Tanya smirks in Rovers in Coronation Street
Eva played Corrie baddie Tanya Pooley (Credit: ITV)

Who did Eva Pope play in Coronation Street?

You might recognise Eva Pope best for her role in Coronation Street.

She joined Coronation Street back in 1993 as Tanya Pooley, a sexy but sharp-tongued Rovers barmaid.

Tanya also had several affairs, including with Raquel’s boyfriend Des Barnes, whilst she was also seeing Des’ boss Alex Christie!

And when Bet Gilroy eventually sacked her from Rovers, she got revenge by running off her with partner Charlie Whelan to Hamburg.

But she eventually left him there too, and Eva left the soap as Tanya in 1994.

What else has Eva Pope been in?

Eva Pope has had a number of great roles since her debut role in Coronation Street.

Another one of her best-known roles is Rachel Mason in Waterloo Road. Rachel joined in series 3 and was the first female head teacher of Waterloo Road.

She left at the end of series 5 with chef Adam Fleet.

She is also known for playing seductive nurse Claire Brightwell who caused plenty of drama in series 12 of Peak Practice.

Parents might also recognise her as Matron Bottomly from CBBC’s Hetty Feather series.

She also had a small stint as Laura Edison in Holby City back in 2013.

More recently, she’s guest starred in Silent Witness and Somewhere Boy.

Sally and Jenny sit together in Maternal episode 2
Eva also stars alongside fellow Corrie actress Isabelle Smith in Maternal episode 2 (Credit; ITV)

How old is Eva Pope?

Eva Pope was born on November 16, 1967.

She is currently 55 years old.

She was born in Wigan, Lancashire.

Read more: Maternal on ITV: Actor accused of spoiling viewers’ enjoyment of new drama

Is Eva Pope married?

Eva Pope was married to graphic designer Laurence Lassalle, but the pair divorced in 2004.

They did have a daughter together in 1995 named Elise.

Eva also has two grandchildren from Elise.

Does she have Instagram?

She does! You can follow her @e.v.a_pope on Instagram.

She is often sharing photos from her acting work and sweet photos of her family!

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Maternal continues on Tuesday, January 23 with episode 2 at 9pm on ITV1. All episodes are available on ITVX now.

So, are you a fan of Eva Pope? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.