| Sasha Bezmel | |||||||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Demi Harman | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 2011–2015 | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | 31 August 2011 | ||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 1 April 2015 | ||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Cameron Welsh | ||||||||||||
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Sasha Bezmel is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Demi Harman. The actress relocated to Sydney from Brisbane for filming and she stated that winning the role was a dream come true. Harman told a reporter that her character forced changes within herself, which she had difficulty adjusting to. Harman made her first screen appearance as Sasha during the episode broadcast on 31 August 2011. Harman decided to leave the show in 2014 and filmed her final scenes in October. Sasha made her official departure on 1 April 2015.
Sasha was introduced as established character Sid Walker's (Robert Mammone) illegitimate daughter. Upon her mother's death, Sasha and her half-brother Felix Bezmel (Max Felice) were orphaned and Sasha had to move to Summer Bay. Sasha was initially "a rebellious and furious teenager". Harman described Sasha as being "sassy" and "angry", as well as having a stubborn streak. Shortly after her arrival, Sasha embarked on a relationship with Stu Henderson (Brenton Thwaites), which eventually turned abusive. Harman admitted that she was both scared and excited about taking on a domestic violence storyline. In February 2012, a whodunnit was formed when Stu was found dead. The Walker family soon became suspects and Sasha was bullied by a group of students led by Christy Clarke (Isabelle Cornish). Sasha soon confessed to killing Stu in self-defence when her father became the prime suspect.
While on the rebound from Stu, Sasha began dating Xavier Austin (David Jones-Roberts). However, the age difference and timing soon caused them to break up and Sasha quickly developed feelings for Casey Braxton (Lincoln Younes). Sasha lost her virginity to Casey and also went through a pregnancy scare. After splitting from Casey, Sasha began dating Spencer Harrington (Andrew Morley). They initially kept the relationship a secret, so they did not hurt Spencer's ex-girlfriend and Sasha's close friend, Maddy Osborne (Kassandra Clementi). In the same year, Sasha befriended Rosie Prichard (Teri Haddy), who became obsessive with Sasha's company and almost caused them both to drown during a stunt to get Sasha's attention. The character of Sasha has been positively received by critics and Harman was nominated for the Most Popular New Female Talent Logie Award in 2012.