Former EastEnders star Martha Cope will be joining Emmerdale on a big upcoming story.
Cope is known to EastEnders fans for playing the role of Sandy Gibson, Dotty Cotton's mother. Sandy last appeared in Walford in 2021 after wreaking havoc on her daughter's life in a hard-hitting storyline, ending up with the character overdosing in Albert Square.
On that occasion, the antagonist, who had previously been played by Caroline Pegg, was recast with Cope taking over.
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Now the actress is tipped to join the Yorkshire-set soap (via The Sun), marking her second stint on the ITV series. Cope perviously appeared on the Dales between 2013 and 2014, when she was cast in the role of DC Morden, a detective brought in to investigate a fire at Home Farm.
Digital Spy understands that Cope will be playing a relative of one of the villagers for a brief stint.
The Family Affairs star has also appeared on the other big ITV soap, Coronation Street, as Joanne, a woman dating Kevin Webster and getting obsessed with him.
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As the actress gets ready for her Emmerdale return, there is still the door open on a possible EastEnders comeback.
In 2021, Sandy made a swift exit following her heroine overdose. Shortly after being brought back by Sonia Fowler, the character left the Square in her rearview mirror, stealing cash from Dotty's club's safe and leaving her daughter devastated.
Digital Spy has reached out to ITV for additional comment.
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage.
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