Danniella in return to Enders?

**parkerman** · 01-09-2009, 15:06

Dallas ran from 1978 to 1991, but it has been repeated on Gold and such like channels many times since.

I agree it was much better than Dynasty.

**sindydoll** · 01-09-2009, 16:46

For a criminal on the run, Sam Mitchell certainly isn't laying low after returning to Walford.
Despite being a fugitive for four years, the brassy blonde has returned to Albert Square to see her family and reunite with ex-husband Ricky Butcher.

During her first few days back, she re-introduces herself to the locals by dancing on the table in the Queen Vic pub wearing a skimpy pink and orange dress.
The scenes mark Danniella Westbrook's comeback as Sam after nine years away from the soap.

Hello boys: Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook) announces her return to Walford by dancing on a table at the Queen Vic, watched by her ex-husband Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen)

Drawing a crowd: Sam entertains Ronnie Mitchell, Joel Reynolds, Bianca Jackson, Billy Mitchell, Charlie Slater and Patrick Trueman

Sam was last seen fleeing Albert Square after being charged with perverting the course of justice after she helped Chrissie Watts bury Den Watts' body after he was murdered in the Queen Vic.

Of course, the last time Sam appeared on screen, she was played by actress Kim Medcalf, who replaced original Sam Danniella in 2002.
After hiding out with brother Grant in Brazil for the past few years, the 34-year-old has returned to Walford... but isn't quite ready to face the consequences of her involvement in Den's murder by his wife Chrissie.

Hi Mum: Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) and son Phil (Steve McFadden) are stunned to see her daughter Sam has returned to Albert Square

Cold welcome: Both Phil and Bianca are furious about Sam's return... for very different reasons

After her brother Phil (Steve McFadden) sent Sam's ex Ricky (Sid Owen) to Brazil to see her, the hapless taxi driver decided to bring her home - despite her fugitive status.
Phil is furious Sam has returned because he fears she will jailed by police.

While her brother Phil and mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor) attempt to keep Sam laying low, the attention-seeker can't wait to announce her return and gives Queen Vic regulars a taste of Brazil with an impromptu samba performance.
Wearing a £70 pink and orange Lipsy colourblock dress and killer heels, Sam cavorts on a table to the delight of her cousin Ronnie and male drinkers.

Skimpy: Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) rifles through Sam's suitcase full of lingerie watched by a concerned Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick)

Watching in disgust is Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer), who is battling Sam for their ex-husband Ricky's affections.
Unbeknownst to Phil and Peggy, Sam has been working as a topless model in Brazil, but it isn't long before her secret is rumbled by cousin Roxy (Rita Simons).
: Danniella as Sam and Sid Owen as Ricky in a scene from EastEnders in 1991

Teasing her relative, Roxy says: 'You want me to keep quiet? I want a cut. A new top should do... Oh sorry, you don't do tops, do you? Only top-less.'
Roxy's taunts prompt Sam to reveal she has been struggling to find even topless work because of her age.
She replies: 'They turned me down, okay? I'm too old, I've lost it. I can't even do that. If I ain't got my looks, what else have I got?'
Sam's saucy career is nearly rumbled when her cousin Billy's (Perry Fenwick) surrogate son Jay Brown finds a selection of skimpy underwear in her suitcase.
It is hardly any time at all before Sam and Ricky are announcing their engagement.
Sam, who wed Ricky in a teen elopement to Gretna Green, confides in her mother that she has fallen in love with him, and Peggy quizzes him about his feelings.
But the announcement leaves his second ex-wife Bianca heartbroken, after she too hoped to rekindle their lost relationship.

Keep quiet: Phil tells Minty Peterson (Cliff Parisi) not to tell anyone about Sam's return

Trouble: Sam and Peggy are disappointed when a lawyer tells her case is hopeless because she breached her bail conditions

In an episode to be screened on September 8, Sam is given the crushing news that her chance of avoiding a jail term is very slim.

Danniella, 35, first played Sam between 1990 and 1993. During her first stint, the character first fell in with Ricky aged 15 and the spark between the underage couple had the audience on the edge of their seats.
During that busy period, Sam also attempted to become a topless model, had an affair, was evicted from her home, became a squatter, fought on a regular basis with Grant and Phil, and went through a marriage break-up.

Enlarge

She's back: Danniella's Sam Mitchell is back in the arms of Ricky Butcher, played by Sid Owen

Danniella returned in 1995 after a spell in rehab for cocaine addiction. In the show Sam was traced to Spain by her brothers and she fell in with David Wicks (Michael French).

But the actress was axed a year later after continued drug use and, it was reported at the time, for giving away the outcome of a storyline on a chat show - a love triangle between Ricky, Bianca and Sam. So Sam departed for Spain in March 1996 after falling for a Spanish tourist.

Danniella returned again in 1999 for a year, where her character had romances with her brothers' enemies Beppe di Marco (Michael Greco) and Steve Owen (Martin Kemp). Sam left again after moving to North London.
During Kim Medcalf's turn as Sam, between 2002 and 2005, she reignited her relationship with Steve Owen, then Beppe, and then fell in love with, and had a short-lived marriage with, gangster Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs).
She was conned by her husband into giving away all her family's properties, including the Vic, and she, Zoe Slater and Chrissie Watts lured Dirty Den Watts to the Queen Vic to take revenge.

• Sam's return to EastEnders can be seen on BBC1 on Monday 7th September at 8:00pm.

**Bryan** · 01-09-2009, 16:51

i know a lot of people are shooting down Sam's return, but im quite looking forward to it! will certainly throw the cat among the pigeons, and any chance for the Mitchells to take centre stage can only be a good thing!

**Chris_2k11** · 01-09-2009, 17:17