Overview

• Shebah Ronay played Natasha Andersen, the show's original poster figure and the first regular character to be killed off.
• Reports recount that Natasha died in March 1996 after unknowingly consuming an ecstasy‑laced drink at a house party before collapsing and later dying in hospital.
• Producers positioned the storyline as a deliberate tonal shift from lighter teen plots, with creator Phil Redmond saying it was meant to confront the reality of sudden, unnecessary death.
• After leaving the series, Ronay moved away from acting into modelling, presenting and journalism, including a film column for News of the World and a stylist editor role at Wedding Day magazine.
• The renewed coverage, published on September 4, comes as the programme approaches its 30th anniversary in October with a planned Brookside crossover, and it notes Ronay now shares two children with portrait artist Jonathan Yeo.