Sandie Merrick first arrived in Beckindale with her mother, father and half-brother in 1972 but left not long after. She later returned for good with her mother and half-brother in 1980. Sandie found romance with Andy Longthorn in 1982. Their love blossomed but he could not compete when Sandie was swept off her feet by agricultural student David Blackmore, who arrived in Beckindale in his flash car to help Joe Sugden at NY Estates. Sandie then moved on to unemployed Graham Jelks, a keen mechanic who was a friend of her brother Jackie and Seth Armstrong's son, Fred.