Natasha Anderson
Encyclopedia
Natasha Andersen is a fictional character
from the British Channel 4
soap opera
Hollyoaks
, played by Shebah Ronay. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 23 October 1995. She was created by Phil Redmond
as one of the serial's original characters.
as being a snooty blonde and "gorgeous". The also go on to state that she is "unattainably posh". The Liverpool Echo
described her as "One of the first Hollyoaks babes, she was sophisticated, glamorous and feisty and the love object of Kurt.
’s desires, who had instantly fallen for her. She was best friends with Maddie Parker
, Dawn Cunningham
and Louise Taylor. Despite having feelings for Kurt, who pursued her relentlessly, and attracted to his bad boy charm, Natasha refused to give in and decided to always play hard to get. This just made Kurt even more determined to win her heart. Natasha really never got a chance to confess to Kurt how she had really felt about him. Natasha had always given Kurt challenges to win her over, including the time when Natasha asked Kurt to choose between Christmas with her family or his own. Natasha won, but she lost interest when she saw Kurt bonding with her father.
However, tragedy occurred when Natasha collapsed and died during Kurt's sister Lucy
's eighteenth birthday party. In a bid to make Kurt jealous, Natasha made the fatal mistake of agreeing to go to the party with Dermot, who wanted to give her a night she would never forget. Just as Kurt and Natasha were getting closer at the party, Dermot and his friend Rob Hawthorne dropped a tablet into Natasha's drink. She then stormed onto the dance floor and suddenly collapsed. Natasha later died in hospital. A heartbroken Kurt vowed revenge on Rob and Dermot after she died. After Natasha died Her father, Greg, sold the pub to her aunt Celia and uncle Jack.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the British Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
, played by Shebah Ronay. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 23 October 1995. She was created by Phil Redmond
Phil Redmond
Phil Redmond CBE is an English television producer and screenwriter.He is well-known for creating several popular television series such as Grange Hill , Brookside and Hollyoaks...
as one of the serial's original characters.
Characterisation
Natasha is described by British newspaper The IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
as being a snooty blonde and "gorgeous". The also go on to state that she is "unattainably posh". The Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
described her as "One of the first Hollyoaks babes, she was sophisticated, glamorous and feisty and the love object of Kurt.
Death
Her death was announced in January 1996 and was described as being "sensational scene in an attempt to boost ratings" and added that it would be different than "softer stories about teen romances and spots". In the serial's first year on air it received criticism for not having any issue led storylines and was branded soft. This prompted producers to develop a hard hitting storyline which involved Natasha, which would result in her death from the use of drugs. The storyline made front-page news and marked a change for the serial as they embarked on serious storylines. Of Natasha's exit Redmond stated: "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". Liverpool Echo described the storyline as "the drama's earliest controversial storyline featuring the much-publicised story when Natasha died on the dance floor after her drink was spiked."Storylines
Natasha was stunning, glamorous, sophisticated, pouty, feisty and a total princess as well as being the ultimate object of Kurt BensonKurt Benson
Kurt Benson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jeremy Edwards. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 23 October 1995. He was created by Phil Redmond as one of the serial's original characters....
’s desires, who had instantly fallen for her. She was best friends with Maddie Parker
Maddie Parker
Madeline "Maddie" Parker is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, a long-running serial drama about life in a fictional suburb of Chester. She was played by actress Yasmin Bannerman between 1995 and 1997. Maddie was created by screenwriter Phil Redmond as one of Hollyoaks'...
, Dawn Cunningham
Dawn Cunningham
Dawn Cunningham is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lisa Williamson. Williamson was cast as one of the original characters on Hollyoaks in 1995, however she left in 1997 when the character died....
and Louise Taylor. Despite having feelings for Kurt, who pursued her relentlessly, and attracted to his bad boy charm, Natasha refused to give in and decided to always play hard to get. This just made Kurt even more determined to win her heart. Natasha really never got a chance to confess to Kurt how she had really felt about him. Natasha had always given Kurt challenges to win her over, including the time when Natasha asked Kurt to choose between Christmas with her family or his own. Natasha won, but she lost interest when she saw Kurt bonding with her father.
However, tragedy occurred when Natasha collapsed and died during Kurt's sister Lucy
Lucy Benson
Lucy Benson is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kerrie Taylor. Taylor appeared from the first episode on 23 October 1995. Taylor later quit the role with the character leaving in 2000 when she went travelling.-Casting:Taylor quit the role saying...
's eighteenth birthday party. In a bid to make Kurt jealous, Natasha made the fatal mistake of agreeing to go to the party with Dermot, who wanted to give her a night she would never forget. Just as Kurt and Natasha were getting closer at the party, Dermot and his friend Rob Hawthorne dropped a tablet into Natasha's drink. She then stormed onto the dance floor and suddenly collapsed. Natasha later died in hospital. A heartbroken Kurt vowed revenge on Rob and Dermot after she died. After Natasha died Her father, Greg, sold the pub to her aunt Celia and uncle Jack.
Reception
Lucy Ellmann of The Independent criticised Natasha because of her facial expressions and demure, stating: "Usually to be found at the bus-stop looking petulant (this is in fact her only look). She's unattainably posh, though she has pointed out to her one remaining parent (Alvin Stardust): "Fatha, Ay'm ova the age of consent." In the second episode she threw a glass of water over Kurt. Water. The age of consent is wasted on these people." Natasha's final episode was watched by 2.1 million viewers; at the time that was Hollyoaks biggest audience share to date.External links
- Character profile on the E4 website