Sunetra Sarker (Zoe Hanna, 'Casualty')

As Casualty's high-octane doctor Zoe Hanna - played by former No Angels actress Sunetra Sarker - continues on the steep learning curve after fostering Sharice, she finds herself becoming increasingly torn as she attempts to balance her work life with motherhood. Zoe soon finds herself in a predicament when her ongoing childcare arrangement falls through, resulting in the reappearance of Sharice's grandparents. Feeling threatened by their presence, Zoe decides she has no option but to start taking Sharice to work with her. But just how much longer can Zoe cope under such pressure? We gave Sunetra a call to find out more about Zoe's reaction and whether there could be a potential No Angels reunion on the cards.

Where's Zoe at?
"The grandparents have turned up, which is fine for Zoe because she's happy for them to be part of Sharice's life. What she's not happy for is for them to come and start taking over and expecting to have a say in Sharice's upbringing, and them wanting to have her back when she's gone through the emotional turmoil of making the decision that she's going to be her foster mother. As they're being so pushy and in her face, her defences have come back up and she seems to be very protective of Sharice and wants to stand her ground. The childcare situation isn't being sorted out in the way she wants it to, either. When Zoe's childcare isn't able to continue the way it had been, she starts having to take Sharice into work and that's not very good because of course it's in A&E - it's not the kind of place you want to bring a child in to work with you!"

Do you think she could ever separate family life from her work?
"I think she'd like to think she can. In her head she thinks she can but the reality of it might not be the same as what she wants it to be. Nothing ever happens the way you want it to when it comes to work and home life does it? So she's just very torn. Zoe's in a position where she never thought she would be - dealing with a seven-year-old child who she may call her own along with being a senior consultant and the demands that are expected from someone in that position."

Do you think she decided to foster Sharice out of guilt?
"To begin with maybe, but not as the story's progressed. I think she's been quite surprised at how she's taken to it easier than she thought she ever would. She felt very guilty about Sharice's mother dying and being partially to blame for it all and I think she's tried to do the right thing, because underneath all the Zoe layers, I think there's quite a decent human being. She's just layered by a lot of selfishness, a lot of righteousness, a lot of pigheadedness, and those traits don't lend them to being a mother very easily. I think that once she's peeled off a few of those layers, she's quite liking being a mum."

Are you a mum in real life?
"I am - I've got a three-year-old. It's very hard to be non-maternal when you're instincts are all about being a mum. I've really enjoyed that challenge to play that kind of woman, though, because there are many women out there who have chosen their careers over their family lives and I admire them for what they've had to sacrifice. Playing it on screen, I appreciate what I've got a lot more."

Do you find it difficult balancing work and family life?
"I'm very lucky - I have a very supportive family and a very good team behind me who help me out and I've got my childcare very much in place so Noah knows exactly who Mummy is, who Daddy is, who Esther his childminder is. He's got his routine and thankfully I've got my routine. It's so hard to get something like a routine in the acting business - this job is a real godsend in that respect!"

Would you be up for a No Angels reunion?
"We all want it! We're fighting for it - start a petition, get everyone onto it! Me and the girls meet up a once every month - we meet up all the time. In fact, we're all very good friends and try to go on holiday with each other and do as much as we can with our husbands and kids and all the rest of it - we love each other! I miss No Angels very much but I'm still in the medical world!"

> Click here to read more from Sunetra Sarker in Soap Scoop