EASTENDERS
Walford Square’s latest arrival tells how she became screen mum to her daughter’s school pal
I called to say ‘It’s Nell’s mum... about to be your mum MARTHA COPE EXCITED
Millie Zero
IN A twist of fate that could be a soap storyline, EastEnders newcomer Martha Cope will be screen mum to a real-life pal of her own daughter.
Next Tuesday Martha joins the Cotton clan as the mother of Nasty Nick’s daughter Dotty, played by Milly Zero.
And Martha, 51 – whose dad Kenneth starred as the ghost private eye in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) – has a link with Milly outside Albert Square.
She revealed: “Milly went to school with my daughter, they were in the same class together so that was really exciting.
“When I found out that I got the part they mentioned that Milly would like to have a chat, she didn’t know that it was me at that point.
“So I gave her a call and said ‘It’s Nell’s mum… about to be your mum!” and the penny dropped, she was so excited.
“It was so lovely to know my scenes were with someone I knew and it’s great that we had that connection already, especially as I knew we’d have quite a lot of intense scenes to play.”
Martha admits she is having almost daily pinch-me moments as she films her scenes. She’s finally got a regular part in a soap after a series of guest roles. She played DC Morden in Emmerdale for 10 episodes in 2013, then Melissa Phillips in EastEnders in 2014 and Joanne in Coronation Street in 2015.
Soap is in her blood. Actor dad Kenneth, 90, met her mum – actress Renny Lister, 89 – when they were working on Corrie in the early 60s.
She played Jean Stark who began dating Kenneth’s character Jed Stone, a local troublemaker. The relationship on screen didn’t work and while Renny left, Kenneth became a well-known face. He become a household name in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) but returned to Corrie in 2018 when he was almost murdered by Tony Gordon.
Martha admitted being on EastEnders is “so exciting”. She admitted: “Every time I do a scene in a different location I get really excited. It’s always fun see it on telly and think ‘I was in that house this morning!’.
“Standing outside The Queen Vic is
I’MSOGLADTO BEJOININGTHE
always my favourite part of being on the lot. Standing in the Square, looking up at the pub, it’s a lovely moment – those are the real ‘pinch me’ moments!”
The role of Sandy Gibson was played in 2010 by Caroline Pegg, but Martha’s version returns to Walford as a regular cast member to cause havoc.
It’s not been the usual set-up behind the scenes because of Covid and the continuing restrictions which sometimes means her co-stars aren’t even there and tennis balls on sticks are used for her to act with.
Martha admitted: “I’ve done a little bit of filming with the infamous tennis balls and a few close contact scenes where we’ve been able to film together which is nice.
“It’s all still so new to me so it feels like the normal for me now! I haven’t found it too difficult.”
The cast have also welcomed her and made her feel at home. She said: “I love working with Milly, we have some full-on sassy scenes so it’s really good fun. My character is the worst mum in the world!”
Sandy was last seen searching for her daughter in Walford back in 2010. But her return to Albert Square is going to put a spotlight on the troublesome Cottons once again.
As the former partner of Nasty Nick
Cotton, she could blow a hole into Dotty’s plan to use her uncle Tom, played by Brian Conley, to pose as Sonia Fowler’s dad to cheat her out of inheritance money.
No wonder there’s no happy reunion with Dotty when she gatecrashes her daughter’s relaunch of the club, Ruby’s, next week.
While telly favourite Brian, 60, is playing a soap baddie. off screen Martha admitted it’s hard to work – for all the laughter.
She said: “Brian is lovely, he has the best stories! It’s a shame that we have to actually do work sometimes because he has such hilarious and wonderful stories.
“He’s such a funny man and on my first day made me feel so relaxed and welcome. We had a chat and he went above and beyond to help me as we were filming.
“Everyone really wants you to do well, the cast and the crew – we’re all on the same team. For someone new to come into such a massive show, you couldn’t ask for more, I really enjoy going into work.”
When Martha first auditioned for the role she new she was a relative of someone already in the Square, but didn’t realise it was the Cottons.
She said: “They’re one of the first families established back in the first episodes so it’s like soap royalty!
“It’s such a privilege. It’s something to really get your teeth into as they’re the family with the most wickedness attached to them too! It was mind-blowing to realise that I’m going in as Nasty Nick’s ex and Dotty’s mum! It was so unexpected so I was totally shocked but very very happy!”
Sandy’s backstory includes issues with drink and thinking of herself before her child. Nick managed to get custody of Dotty when she was a baby after he’d got out of prison. He then told his daughter her mum had died in a car accident.
Sandy was last seen on our screens 11 years ago when Dot (June Brown) helped her reunite with Dotty.
The student returned to the Square two years ago and recently ruffled some feathers after sleeping with Tiffany Butcher’s (Maisie Smith) husband Keegan behind her back.
Martha’s first scenes were Sandy arriving out of the blue to gatecrash her daughter’s big night.
She grinned: “That was all very exciting, my first day on set was filming those scenes!
“It was me turning up at Ruby’s club, shouting and causing a proper scene!
“It was quite a baptism of fire but it’s always good to start with something that really scares you, opening with a bang and then you’ve set the bar for what Sandy is like - she’s no shrinking violet!” ●EastEnders airs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on BBC One.