she is initially shown as adi ferreira's (ameet chana) escort friend in 2003, whom he hires to pretend to be his girlfriend at a wedding to impress his father, dan (dalip tahil). originally a guest character, executive producer louise berridge opted to bring her back the following year, offering actress jemma walker a 6-month contract. walker commented in 2004, "i think she's a bit of light relief around the place [...] sasha called herself an 'escort', but i think she was actually on the game. but she doesn't have any issues with it. you do what you have to do to survive." sasha was reportedly brought in to spice up the asian ferreira family, who were heavily criticised in the british media.