After fighting her way from the darkest depths of drug addiction, Hollyoaks' Sasha Valentine - played by 20-year-old Nathalie Emmanuel - now seems to have her life back on track. Since the beginning of the year, Sasha's eyes have been firmly focused on the village's resident bad boy Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas), and while wooing him she's forged a strong bond with his foster brother, Spencer (Darren Langford). Now with her ideal man within metaphorical reaching distance, Sasha ups her game over the next couple of weeks to the point where Warren can resist no longer. We chat to Nathalie to find out more.
What do you think attracts Sasha to Warren?
"I think that Sasha going for an older boyfriend helps her in her mission to feel more grown up. Also, what girl doesn't like a bad boy? Warren fits both requirements and she sees him as a challenge, too. Apart from that, she has quite an addictive personality, so when sets her eyes on someone or something, she'll go to any length to get it."
Even though she's 18, do you think Sasha's still quite immature?
"Yeah, she's very immature. I think it comes down to her general lack of judgement! Everyone's telling her how Warren's bad news and he even broke her brother Calvin's heart when he got with Louise, but she's still blinded by him."
She's been teasing Warren for weeks now. Why hasn't she made a move?
"As much as she acts confident around him, she's actually very unsure of herself and she doesn't really know what to do to get him. There's a turning point, though, when she works out how to get in there with him…"
How does Sasha celebrate her 18th birthday with her friends?
"Sasha and Josh's birthdays are a week apart, so they decide to have a joint birthday party at The Loft. Sasha wants to showcase some of her fashion designs on the night too, so she puts on a show to impress Warren."
Does the show go to plan?
"No, Sasha realises that she's a model down and Amy suggests that she should call Sarah. Obviously, though, because of Warren and Sarah's history, she's reluctant to. When Sasha gets teased for being jealous, she calls her anyway but ends up regretting it because Warren still fancies her. Sasha doesn't let it go, though, because she lets Sarah go out on the catwalk with her dress caught in her knickers."
Sasha then turns her attentions to Rhys, doesn't she?
"Yeah, she's clutching at straws at this point. Rhys is the first person she sees and ends up snogging him in Warren's office in the hope of getting caught by him. Warren finds them, but he's not impressed by her tactics in the slightest."
She finally gets her man by the end of the week, though…
"Sasha starts to realise that as much as she's chasing Warren, he's intrigued by her, too. It was always going to be the case that Warren would get to a point where he couldn't resist her anymore because she's literally been throwing herself at him. The day after the party, Sasha goes to pick up her things from The Loft and she ends up having a laugh with Spencer. Warren finds it quite endearing and it's at that point Sasha realises that making Warren laugh and smile is the key to unlocking him."
Is Sasha oblivious to Calvin and Warren's underhand friendship?
"Yeah, definitely. She thinks that they're genuine friends. Calvin told Sasha about 'murdering' Nige, but she doesn't know that he's still alive, unlike her brother. Sasha really doesn't realise why Calvin's so against her being interested in Warren."
Will Sasha be a catalyst in the big Calvin/Warren reveal?
"You would hope so, wouldn't you?! Sasha's that besotted with Warren that she'll believe everything that he tells her."