become that grumpy guy on set. When I started out I was like, 'that guy is so grumpy because he forgot his lines. Get it together old man.' Now its like, that's me." He found it particularly strange acting alongside Lucy Elliott (Dayna Jenkins), having held her as a baby when her father, Peter appeared on the soap. Naufahu found it easy getting back into character but noted Sam was, "much cooler than me." He also noted that Sam's return would not be sensational, rather he would simply become "wallpaper". Sam made his return on 18 March 2014. Naufahu hoped the role would be long running and believed he could see himself on the soap for another 10 years. The character was written off following Blakely's decision to leave the show, and Vasa and Sam both departed on 11 July 2014. However Naufahu agreed to reprise his role 3 months later, to reintroduce his onscreen daughter Sophie McIntosh (Honour Aleni) into the core cast. Sam made a one episode return on 8 October 2014. Storylines Paramedic Sam flatted with Steve Mills (Andrew Binns) and Alison Raynor (Danielle Cormack) and it was clear to all the staff that he was heavily religious and planned to stay celibate until marriage. However a relationship with a drug addict saw him defy his faith and she ended up stealing from the flat. When she returned, the two reconciled and got engaged but it was short lived. Sam stood by his brother Nat (Joe Naufahu) when he got involved in racial gang wars that saw his best friend get murdered. Sam grew close to Tongan rival, Talita "T.P." Palele (Elizabeth Skeen) but the two families opposed of the relationship and with Jamie's (Karl Urban) help, Sam ended up marrying T.P. to keep them together. However tragedy struck when T.P. was killed in a devastating car crash. Sam strived to stop the Palele's involvement in their daughter's funeral, but gave in and became friends with the family. Sam grew close to Kennedy's owner, Alex McKenna (Liddy Holloway) and became a part-time manager of the bar and later manager of a band. He fell in love with the lead singer but felt uneasy with T.P.'s death being so recent. Sam eventually dedicated most of his time to being a DJ but a run-in with a dodgy bar manager saw Sam beaten and hospitalised. Sam left for a