Danniella Westbrook to return to EastEnders

Danniella Westbrook to return to EastEnders
Danniella Westbrook to return to EastEnders (Image credit: PA Archive/PA Photos)

Danniella Westbrook WILL be returning to EastEnders as Sam Mitchell, according to reports. It was recently reported that the actress - who has publicly battled cocaine addiction - would be making a comeback as fiesty Sam. And now bosses on the BBC1 soap have decided to bring her back after nine years away from Albert Square. Kim Medcalf was the last actress to play Sam, who was last seen fleeing Walford for Brazil in 2005. Danniella, who first played Sam in 1990, said: "I'm really happy - it feels just like coming home. "I'm looking forward to working with the others and I can't wait to get the scripts to see what Sam has been up to since she was last in the Square." Danniella is said to start filming this summer for her dramatic return, which is bound to cause problems for former hubby Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) and his ex Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer). EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer added: "It feels like a great time to bring back Sam." Danniella left the show in 2000 and appeared on ITV1's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2003. Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk's new weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop Get all the latest soap gossip delivered straight to your door. Subscribe to Soaplife magazine today

Patrick McLennan

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.