Shebah Ronay was the first Hollyoaks poster girl, but her role on the Channel 4 soap tragically ended with Natasha Andersen.
Former Hollyoaks star Shebah Ronay, who portrayed the legendary Natasha Andersen, has embarked on a striking career transformation three decades after the soap launched.
Natasha served as Hollyoaks’ original pin-up – alluring, spirited and tragically, the first main character to meet her demise in a shocking death plot.
Her devastating end unfolded in March 1996 when she suffered a fatal overdose after her beverage was laced with ecstasy during a house party. She later collapsed and died in hospital leaving fans of the Channel 4 soap in shock.
Shebah, now 53, first appeared on television as Natasha on October 23, 1995, the day the television program first aired. However, her character’s passing was made public in January 1996.
The sequence was branded a “sensational scene in an attempt to boost ratings” at the time, crafted to elevate viewing figures and provide a sharp departure from the “softer stories about teen romances and spots”, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Producers created a compelling narrative centered on Natasha’s drug-induced death during the first year of Hollyoaks, which faced criticism for its lack of socially conscious plot points.
This plot attracted significant media attention and marked a turning point for the program as it began to address contentious issues.
Looking back on Natasha’s departure, series creator Phil Redmond commented: “Natasha’s death depicts the stark reality of unnecessary death coming very close to one group of friendly and fun-loving people for the first time in their lives and how this is bound to change their outlook in many ways”, reports the Mirror.
Shebah left the acting world after she left the show. Before turning her attention to modeling, presenting, and journalism, she made a short film called The Things We Do For Love.
Before moving on to the glamorous Wedding Day magazine, the soap star worked for the weekly newspaper News of the World for a while as a film columnist.
She is wedded to artist Jonathan Yeo, with whom she shares two children. The artist specialises in portraiture, with his celebrated work including King Charles III and Sir David Attenborough.
Shebah is also a well-known member of her family, having been Edina Ronay’s daughter and Egon Ronay’s granddaughter, a food critic from Hungary.
