I spent 15 years as 'silent nurse' on BBC soap Doctors - I won't miss the 4am starts

Maria Pike, 56, was nicknamed the ‘silent nurse’ after playing receptionist Tasha Verma on the show since 2009.

She was a stalwart of the daytime soap for 15 years – but remained silent in almost every scene.

The long-running BBC drama aired its final episode last week after 24 years on TV.

Maria, from Belper, Derbyshire, says she has fond memories of her time on the show, despite being mute for her time on screen.

She said: “I got the gig as a supporting artist to play a nurse along with four other actors - they just rotated us.

"Over time one by one of them all drifted away which then left me, then they gave me a character name and that's how it all started.

"I was known for a long time as 'the silent nurse' which always made me laugh because in real life you can’t shut me up.”

Despite being a background character, Maria was given a minor storyline during Covid when Tash was berated by Dr Al Haskey, played by Ian Midlane.

Maria, who has two grown-up children, said: “Al had to shout at me for making a mistake and I had to cry.

“It was strange filming it during Covid because we had to stand so far apart in case he sprayed me while shouting.

“The camera angles made it look like he was right in my face. I still didn’t have any lines but it was nice to get some more screen time.”

At its peak Doctors attracted more than a million viewers per episode and helped launch the careers of household names such as Eddie Redmayne, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Claire Foy.

Maria said: “It was a really popular show and everyone worked really hard to make it look as authentic as possible.

“It was mostly filmed in Birmingham and I’d often have to be on set for 7am which meant a 4am start.

“That is one thing I won’t miss about the show ending.”

Maria, who has also appeared in Doctor Who, Crossroads and EastEnders, says it was a “shock” when the soap was axed.

She said: “I was on holiday when I got the call from my agent saying the show was ending.

“It did feel like it came out of the blue and it was a shock. The show and everyone involved with it had become a family.

“One of my favourite memories was appearing in the 3,000th episode which was filmed in Birmingham city centre with Bhangra dancing and lots of action.”

Maria also attracted a cult following with fans setting up a ‘Silent Nurse’ Facebook page dedicated to reporting the rare lines she had in later episodes.

She added: "They love Tash spotting, they often say 'there's been a flash of Tash'.

"They are always just a quick one-liner, nothing very complicated.

"This is where it's really quite nice to be a supporting artist, because I've got the beauty of being part of the cast and crew but I've not got the pressure of learning lots of lines.

“I think of myself like Tracey the barmaid on EastEnders who was always there but not having many, if any, lines.”