Daniella Westbrook: 'I belong in EastEnders'

Daniella Westbrook: 'I belong in EastEnders' (Image credit: BBC)

EastEnders actress Danniella Westbrook has claimed that the soap is where she belongs. The 36-year-old, whose character Sam Mitchell will leave Albert Square on Friday, said being back in the show for the fourth time gave her a sense of "closure". She told The Mirror: "It's where I feel I belong, for me EastEnders was unfinished business - it was great to be asked back, I wanted closure. "They've never recast a character, then invited back the original actress. I've had so much fun and the cast are a great bunch." The actress, who fought a public battle with cocaine in the 90s, also addressed criticism she's received about her looks since returning to screen. "I think they expected me to come back looking like I did when I was in my 20s," she said. "They've said I look old and called me the Bride of Chucky - I've even been compared to a burns victim. "But, you know what, I don't care. People will say things about you, but as an actor you have to develop a thick skin. You can't worry about it all." She said the 'tanned and brassy' look she sports in the show is just part of Sam's character. "I don't go to Tesco with curlers in my hair, false eyelashes and a Dynasty hairdo! It just doesn't happen. But I think Sam looks awesome - that's part of her character." Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk's new weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.