Holby City Holby's Sasha: It's odd returning as Michael's foe

Feb 1, 2012

Michael Spence gets some competition this week as new consultant Alex Broadhurst turns up at Holby. Actress Sasha Behar - best known as Coronation St's Maya Sharma - reveals more...

You play Holby's new consultant Alex Broadhurst. What's she like?
"She's a high-flyer, who's proved everything she needs to prove and is just there to do the best job she can. She certainly hasn't come in to put anyone's nose out of joint."

But she immediately gets on the wrong side of Michael Spence, doesn't she?
"Alex and Michael are on a collision course the moment they meet. She doesn't know that Michael thinks he's already the boss and he doesn't know she's been told to apply for the job as clinical lead of AAU. Hanssen's got them both as puppets on a string."

How does Michael respond to having some competition?
"Michael bounces back and is more than prepared to take on this challenge. If anything, Alex is a catalyst for Michael; she's there to try and provoke him into being the best he can be."

This isn't the first time you've been in Holby or worked alongside Hari Dhillon [Michael] is it?
"Yes. We were both in it about 10 years ago. He was actually playing a character called Dr Gupta and I was his wife, who was trying to steal a baby from someone because she couldn't have children. It was odd coming back 10 years later and turn into his nemesis."

You're known for playing troubled Maya Sharma in Coronation Street. Do you think viewers will expect Alex to be slightly 'unhinged'?
"Ha, ha! There must be something in my make-up; I seem to bring a little bit of that with me, wherever I go. But, as much as it's hard to live Maya down, Alex goes in a very different direction."

You appear in Holby for six episodes. What can you reveal about how Alex leaves the show?
"Do you mean, does she get crushed by a huge lorry? No, her exit has more to do with something that's revealed about why she came to Holby in the first place..."

Watch Sasha Behar in Holby City from February 7 at 8pm on BBC1.