| Eva Strong | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollyoaks character | |||||||
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| Portrayed by | Sheree Murphy | ||||||
| Duration | 2010–2011 | ||||||
| First appearance | 23 April 2010 | ||||||
| Last appearance | 20 January 2011 | ||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||
| Introduced by | Lucy Allan | ||||||
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Eva Strong is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks , played by Sheree Murphy. She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 April 2010.
In February 2010, former Emmerdale actress Murphy had been cast in the role of Eva, the long-lost biological mother of Anita Roy (Saira Choudhry). [1] Of her casting, a Hollyoaks source said: "Bosses have been trying to sign her up for a while now - but she's always put her family first. But after years out of acting, she wants to give it another go. Sheree has started filming scenes and was very nervous being on set again, but she's a professional and has taken to Hollyoaks like a duck to water. She's loving it - and everyone loves having her on the team." [1] Murphy was the first major signing of series producer Paul Marquess, who told entertainment website Digital Spy that Murphy was not cast because of her high-profile. He stated, "Casting Sheree Murphy, it was day one and they said: 'We have to cast this today'. They showed me a DVD of six perfectly good actresses, one of whom was Sheree Murphy who I recognised and said, 'Let's have her'. It's as simple as that - I've watched Emmerdale and I know what Sheree can do." [2]
In August 2010 it was announced that Murphy had decided not to renew her contract with the serial because she planned to move abroad with her family. [3] An exit storyline was devised for Eva. [3] Her plans later changed and she decided to stay in the UK, Marquess decided to bring Eva back after a short on-screen hiatus, with Murphy agreeing to reprise the role. [3] Of the situation Marquess stated: "Sheree will be taking a little break on screen because of her family commitments, but we're already thinking about how we'll bring her back." [3]
Eva arrives in Hollyoaks village and goes to Relish diner. She meets Ravi Roy (Stephen Uppal) and introduces herself as Kate Simpson. She asks Ravi about Hollyoaks High School and he tells her that he has a sister at the school, and Eva realises that Ravi is Anita Roy's adoptive brother. Eva then gives Ravi her phone number. A few weeks later, Eva returned to have a date with Ravi where she met Anita for the first time. However, the date did not go well and Eva decided to run off, with Ravi annoyed thinking he had done something wrong. But her secret did not last when Anita decides to start to look for her birth mother, in which she learns her mother has a market stall in Manchester. Eva is worried, but eventually gets caught out when Anita spots her at her stall. Anita is devastated and Eva tries to explain the situation, but Anita was too hurt to listen to what she had to say and runs off, horrified to learn that her brother's girlfriend is actually her mother and that all that time she did not say anything about it. However, though Eva decided to see Anita again and visited her at work, but Anita is utterly furious to the fact that she never mentioned that she was her mother. After a heart to heart with Dominic Reilly (John Pickard) Anita decided to give Eva another chance. However, Eva was less interested in Anita and telling her that Anita's father was a holiday fling. Eva then meets Jem Costello (Helen Russell-Clarke) and went on a fashion advice with her instead. Anita is deeply frustrated and further upset by this until and to make matters worse, they were interrupted by Anita's best friend Theresa McQueen (Jorgie Porter), who has just avoided a termination of her baby and embraced Anita for comfort. This made Eva feel uncomfortable because to the fact that she gave her baby up for adoption and decided to leave the flat. Eva returned to the village to see Anita once again and they went shopping together after Ravi gave her some money. Anita and Eva eventually struck up a bond. However, Eva always jeopardized things, such as sleeping with Ravi. She and Ravi did this several occasions, much to the annoyance of Anita, who although disgusted at first, soon seemed to accept it. She also kissed Duncan Button, much to the humiliation of Anita; however, Eva could not figure out what she did wrong. Eva got a job as design artist at Hollyoaks High; however, she was fired when headmaster Rob, caught her and Ravi messing around in the art room during her free period. However, after finding out a secret of Rob's, that his wife had taken a baby from the hospital, she helped him cover it up, and then blackmailed him for a better job at the school. She was promoted to personal assistant. In November she catches Anita kissing Bart McQueen in a utility room in the school. She tries to talk to Anita about what she saw, but Anita is embarrassed, so she refuses to talk about it.
It was discovered that Eva stole Amber Sharpe's diary, which contained Amber making up fantasies about her and Rob, including pretending that Rob is Amber's unborn child's father. Eva revealed right before her departure that Anita is not her only child.
Holy Soap refer to Eva's most memorable moment as when Anita found out that she was her mum. [4] They also brand her as being "Free-spirited and enigmatic." [5]
Hollyoaks is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera Brookside. From 2005 to 2023, episodes have aired on sister channel E4 a day prior to their broadcast on Channel 4. In 2023, Hollyoaks was removed from Channel 4's early evening schedule, but remains on E4 and Channel 4's on demand service with episodes now uploaded to YouTube. At its inception, the soap was targeted towards an adolescent and young adult audience but it has since broadened its appeal to all age groups. Hollyoaks has covered various taboo subjects rarely seen on British television, for which it has received numerous awards. It has won the award for Best British Soap twice, in 2014 and 2019; its first win broke the 15-year tie between rival soap operas EastEnders and Coronation Street. Beginning with a cast of 15 characters, it now has 37 regular cast members. The longest-serving actor is Nick Pickard, who has portrayed Tony Hutchinson since the first episode.
Steph Roach is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Carley Stenson. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 29 March 2000. Steph was introduced into the serial by executive producer Jo Hallows. In 2009 Stenson decided to quit, but the then producer Lucy Allan convinced her to stay to play out a dramatic storyline. The announcement of her departure was made public in June 2010. Stenson's fellow cast members have described her as a "Hollyoaks legend" because of her lengthy duration.
Ste Hay is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kieron Richardson. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 10 February 2006. Ste was created by David Hanson and was originally intended to be a short-term character for seven episodes. The following series producer Bryan Kirkwood decided to bring the character back on a permanent basis. As of 2010, Richardson has revealed that he is committed to staying in the serial. In April 2017, Richardson began taking hiatus from the show due to paternity leave, and made a full-time return on 18 December 2017. In October 2019, it was confirmed that Richardson will take a hiatus from the show departing on 20 November 2019. He returned on 3 November 2020.
Ravi Roy is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Stephen Uppal. He first appeared in an episode airing on 20 May 2008, introduced by series producer Bryan Kirkwood. Since then he has been central to a bisexuality storyline and living with an aneurysm. Uppal announced in 2010 that he had decided to leave the show.
Anita Roy is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Saira Choudhry. Choudhry was cast in 2008 as part of the new Roy family and arrived in November and stayed in the serial for 2 years before she left Hollyoaks on 20 January 2011. Her more notable storylines include being racially bullied, which was nominated for an award at the Inside Soap Awards and which led to her self-harming storyline. In her time on the show she also discovered that she is adopted and began an on-line relationship. Anita also suffered an identity crisis.
Kathleen McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Alison Burrows. She first appeared during late-night spin-off Hollyoaks Later in September 2009 as the sister of Myra McQueen and mother of Theresa McQueen. Burrows reprised her role as Kathleen in August 2014, but left again in September.
Loretta Jones is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, and its spin-off series, Hollyoaks Later. The character is played by Melissa Walton and first appeared on-screen on 26 November 2008 during the first series of the Hollyoaks spin-off Hollyoaks Later as a new love interest for the character Dominic Reilly. She made her first appearance in the Hollyoaks series in February 2009 and was the first character to be introduced to the series by producer Lucy Allan. In 2010, Loretta was axed from the series, along with 15 other characters, during a cast cull by executive producer Paul Marquess.
Jem Costello is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Helen Russell-Clark. She made her first on-screen appearance on 5 March 2010. It was later announced that Jem had been written out of the serial, and the character would leave in November 2010. Russell-Clark made her final appearance as Jem on 30 November 2010.
Diane Hutchinson is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Alex Fletcher. The character made her first appearance on 1 September 2010. Diane was introduced into the series by Hollyoaks' executive producer Paul Marquess, during his rejuvenation of the show. Marquess axed numerous characters and replaced them with new families. Fletcher began filming in June 2010, the same month her casting was publicised. Diane was introduced with her husband, Rob and stepchildren, Sinead and Finn O'Connor. The O'Connors are one of three families that were introduced 2010. Diane is characterised as a "loving wife" and a "devoted stepmum". Fletcher initially hoped that Diane would be likeable, despite her over the top demeanour. Fletcher believed Diane has a good relationship with her step-children and was loathe to portray her as "the wicked stepmother".
Gabby Sharpe is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Phina Oruche. She made her first on-screen appearance on 18 June 2010, before departing on 17 December 2010.
Amber Sharpe is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lydia Lloyd-Henry in 2010 and Lauren Gabrielle-Thomas in 2014. The character was introduced as a member of the new Sharpe family, as part of series producer Paul Marquess' rejuvenation of the serial in 2010. She made her first on-screen appearance on 21 June 2010. Amber's storylines have included sleeping with Finn O'Connor and subsequently discovering she is pregnant and giving birth to her daughter Bella.
Carl Costello is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Paul Opacic. The character was introduced by executive producer Paul Marquess and he debuted on screen during the episode broadcast on 19 July 2010. Carl arrived in the village as the new owner of The Dog in the Pond and the father of established character Jem Costello. Carl departed from Hollyoaks on 1 December 2011 with his son Jason Costello. Opacic later reprised his role and returned to Hollyoaks on 26 September 2012 and left again on the 5 October 2012. Opacic reprised his role once more in January 2013, which coincided with the exit of Mitzeee Minniver. He returned on 25 January 2013 and departed again on 15 February 2013. Opacic returned again for a guest appearance on 10 July 2018, which ended in his character being murdered by an unknown assailant on 11 July of that year. He reappeared via a flashback on 16 November 2018, which revealed Breda McQueen to be his killer.
Bart McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jonny Clarke. He first appeared onscreen at his stepmother's funeral in August 2010, introduced by producer Paul Marquess as a member of the McQueen family. During his time on the show, Bart had been involved in: relationships with Jason Costello and Sinead O'Connor, being stabbed during the third series of Hollyoaks Later, his involvement in Esther Bloom's bullying storyline, causing the bus crash featuring in the notable Enjoy the Ride storyline, and falling off the rails with a growing cannabis habit.
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Melissa Wells is a British actress best known for playing Loretta Jones in Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.
Hollyoaks began airing on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 23 October 1995. The show targeted teenagers and initially dramatised the lives of seven teenagers living in Hollyoaks, a fictional suburb in the city of Chester in Cheshire, England.
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