EastEnders star joins Emmerdale cast for dramatic storyline

It is not known if she is expected to play the same character when she returns or not, but a source told The Sun: "Martha will appear later this year and kick off a huge storyline.

"She’s making a guest appearance but she has an unmatched soap pedigree, so she’s bound to impress fans."

Digital Spy has reported that Cope will be playing a relative of one of the villagers and will appear in a brief stint.

RadioTimes.com has reached out to ITV for comment.

Cope's EastEnders character Sandy is the mother of Dotty Cotton, who appeared on the square in a number of episodes in 2021. She left the square and her daughter's life, taking cash from Dotty's club and running off after previously having overdosed.

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Emmerdale recently aired a shock departure for one long-standing character, as Liam Fox's Dan Spencer was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter.

This came after he punched the man who had been talking his daughter Amelia, who later died in prison.

Another shock exit also aired in July, when fan favourite character Rishi Sharma was killed off.

Actor Bhasker Patel said of his departure: "The producer rang me and said, 'I need to talk to you, and we're killing you off because we want a big story and it's going to be a big surprise.'

"[In] my 12 years at ITV, they let me do a lot of other work, so I felt a part of ITV, a part of Rishi, but at the same time... I was working in London as well.

"So when the producer said, 'We're going to kill you off', I was like, 'Okay, that part of my life with this guy is over and I'm going to move on.'"

Emmerdale airs on weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Soaps hub.

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