Sarah begins a relationship with Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) after he ends his relationship with Sarah's best friend Candice Stowe, portrayed by Nikki Sanderson. Sarah later ends their relationship because she wants to date Ade Critchley (Dean Ashton). O'Brien and Langley were in a relationship and she told Frances Traynor from the "Daily Record" that acting out their break-up was not strange. Todd then resumes his previous relationship with Candice. But Sarah soon returns to Todd. She decides to sleep with him on her sixteenth birthday. The storyline was controversial and nine viewers contacted the Independent Television Commission. The organisation investigated the scenes and cleared "Coronation Street" of breaching guidelines. They praised them for building a relationship between the two characters and viewed it as a mature decision. O'Brien told Steve Hendry from the "Sunday Mail" that Sarah is "a bit dependent on Todd". In June 2003, Alex Tate from "The People" reported that Sarah-Louise would dump Todd. Sarah fears that she and Bethany are preventing Todd from succeeding at Oxford University. But Sarah and Todd move into a flat together. Sarah's daughter Bethany Platt (Amy and Emily Walton) electrocutes herself and Todd finds her unconscious. The accident prompts Gail Platt (Helen Worth) to involve the social services.