Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Janus Womack)

Michael , come on how thich would you have to be not to see he's playing one side off the other to get ronnie done, then he's supposed to break into the pub (to take the kid ?) and blame it on Ronnie ...

What a load of BULL HIT

Samantha Womack has claimed that fans will be "surprised" by Ronnie Mitchell's exit from EastEnders.

Viewers will see Womack's character leave Albert Square this week, in a storyline that sees her stand trial for swapping her dead son James for Kat and Alfie Moon's baby Tommy on New Year's Day.

The plot garnered a record number of complaints from outraged EastEnders viewers, but Womack assured Virgin Media that the tragic saga would have the "right ending".

"I think this is the right ending to the storyline and I think the audience will be surprised by some of the things that happened," she said.

"She knows that going to court is the right thing but Ronnie will punish herself more than any custodial sentence."

Womack recently admitted that she had been "crying or screaming every day" during her time on Eastenders after a slew of hard-hitting plots.

She announced her departure from the soap back in January at the peak of the baby-swap controversy.

Eastenders' executive producer Bryan Kirkwood stated this week that he would "love" for Womack to return in the future.

Samantha Womack has admitted to "holding back tears" as she bid farewell to her EastEnders colleagues.

Womack will bow out from her role as Ronnie Mitchell this week, as the BBC soap's controversial baby swap storyline reaches its conclusion.

Despite recently claiming to have "cried every day" since joining EastEnders, Womack despaired at being parted from her "brilliant" co-star Rita Simons, who plays Ronnie's sister Roxy.

"Working with Rita so closely for so many years has been brilliant. Not seeing her every day is going to be strange," she told The Mirror.

"It was emotional! All day, Rita and I were really aware that we were getting closer and closer to the last scene, so we were holding back the tears."

Simons recently compared Womack's EastEnders exit to a death in the family.

Former EastEnders star Samantha Womack has said that her character Ronnie Branning left the soap at the right time, claiming that the troubled blonde "couldn't go any further" following her string of dark storylines.

The actress announced her decision to bow out from the BBC drama at the beginning of the year, and viewers recently saw her final scenes as Ronnie was jailed in the climax to the show's tragic baby swap plot.

Other hard-hitting stories featuring Ronnie had included the death of her long-lost daughter Danielle and her disturbing history with evil dad Archie.

Asked by The Observer whether she was glad to leave Ronnie behind, Womack replied: "I wouldn't say I was glad. Ronnie had had her time, she couldn't go any further. She had so much trauma that it wouldn't have been believable to put her through any more, I feel.

"It's a very hard thing to do - you get very comfortable being in regular employment, and I'm a jobbing actor again, and that's quite scary. I feel grateful to have had the experience but I'm glad to be moving in another direction."

Although Womack recently signed up for the stage role of Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, the 38-year-old dismissed suggestions that she is seeking a break from television jobs.

"I'm just trying to mix up the characters - the form in which they come is not important," she said. "Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders was so withdrawn and secretive and dark, so Nellie - with her open quality and hick-style delivery - was a challenge I really wanted to take on."

Womack first appeared in the role of Ronnie in the summer of 2007.

Samantha Womack has said that part of her misses the challenge of playing Ronnie Branning on EastEnders.

Viewers saw Ronnie jailed last month as the BBC One soap's controversial baby swap plot reached its climax.

Womack told Woman & Home magazine: "Part of me misses EastEnders and Ronnie. Working for long stretches, day in, day out, I knew exactly how she'd think and feel.

"From the first day of discussing the character, it was clear she was damaged - with a background of abuse - and, as an actress, that was an amazing opportunity. It was demanding but always fulfilling."

Womack further revealed that response from the public towards Ronnie was positive, even at the height of the baby swap storyline.

"The newspaper stories about people yelling at me in the street when she swapped her baby were rubbish. It never happened," she said.

"The story did arouse such interest that I had paparazzi outside my house for several days, but I never experienced hostility from the public."

Former EastEnders star Samantha Womack has insisted that she is "proud" of the work she did in the soap's controversial baby swap storyline.

The BBC show sparked a row earlier this year when Womack's character Ronnie Branning was seen losing her newborn son James to cot death, before switching him with Kat Moon's healthy child Tommy in her grief-stricken state.

Ronnie has since been jailed for her actions in the conclusion to the story, while in real life, Womack has left EastEnders and landed a stage role in South Pacific.

Despite tabloid reports that she was unhappy over the tragic baby plot, Womack has now explained that she was pleased with the way the storyline progressed as she worked closely with the show's bosses to ensure it felt "truthful".

Reflecting on her soap departure, Womack told the Evening Standard: "I went almost straight into rehearsals [for South Pacific], so I haven't had much time to process anything. But those last few months at EastEnders felt like a hurricane. The whole 'Babygate' thing was like a circus and I was caught in the middle of it."

Discussing the plot, she continued: "I'm fiercely proud of what I did. In the end, I left because I would have been replicating what I'd done before and I'm no good when I'm stale. I lose heart. I don't think I would have been able to generate those kinds of performances any more. It seemed like a natural place to end it.

"I had a great relationship with the executive producer Bryan Kirkwood. He knew that I had to believe in what I was doing. There were meetings where I would say, 'Can we change this, or do this differently, because it doesn't feel too great for me'. And he always wanted to keep me in a place where it was truthful for me."

Womack added that she is relishing her new stage project after four years of playing Ronnie.

"It's challenging and exciting. I'm terrified actually," she said. "More terrified about something than I've been for a very long time. But I think that's good. I think it proves that I was right to leave [EastEnders] because clearly I had become too safe.

"Yes, I could have stayed and bought a nice big house but I'd stopped learning and I still want to. Even though I've been working most of my life, it feels like I've only just started to find my feet."

It’s been six months since Samantha Womack said goodbye to her emotionally battered alter-ego, EastEnders’ Ronnie Branning. And boy, has the break done her good.
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She’d spent four years crying almost non-stop as the unfortunate Ronnie bounced from one trauma to the next – including miscarriage, incest and rape – and, by the time she left, Samantha, 39, looked as exhausted in real life as she did on screen.
But it was the final drama, which saw Ronnie snatching Kat Moon’s baby after her own son’s cot death, that did the most damage.
Attracting over 9,000 complaints from upset viewers, the plot seemed a step too far, even for Easties.
With Samantha announcing she was quitting the soap just days after the scenes were broadcast, rumours spiralled that it was in protest at the storyline, which was denied.
But looking back Samantha now openly admits that the plot simply wasn’t realistic.
“I thought it was implausible. Most women who lose a child would not go out and abduct one,” she says. “But Ronnie is a soap character and she is not necessarily representing real life.
“Soap is based on controversy and sensationalism because bosses are trying to get high ratings and they can’t write things like ‘Ronnie had a cup of tea’. Otherwise people wouldn’t watch it.”
After all the controversy, the actress, a core member of the cast since 2007, decided it was time to move on when her contract ended.
“It was emotionally and physically exhausting,“ explains Samantha. “It was the right time for Ronnie to be put to bed. I also left because you can end up being typecast.
“If you want to do good work, you have to take yourself out of your comfort zone. It was very frightening leaving a job that I got on so well in and it did feel like a very big risk.”
The door hasn’t been shut on the character forever though – even after all the furore – with Ronnie being jailed. “You have to remember that no one is bigger than the show and they can kill anyone off,” says Samantha.
“The show survives because it’s the show and had it served their purpose to get rid of Ronnie for good, they would have done it.
“But I don’t think they wanted it and I think they thought the audience didn’t want it. Deep down fans loved her but they wanted her to go to prison.”
Since then Samantha has been treading boards in her role as the upbeat leading lady Nellie in a touring production of South Pacific, and this has had a positive impact on the star.
Not only has she escaped the never-ending misery she channelled day in, day out as Ronnie, but she’s in better shape than she has been for years.
In fact, since working out with Bikram yoga and taking regular runs to get in shape for the 1940s-style swimwear she has to wear on stage, the mum-of-two has managed to lose more than a stone.
“I am very lucky in that I don’t look any different to how I looked in my early 30s,” says Samantha.
“I’ve lost over a stone in weight since I started in the show, so I’m now about 9st. It’s a three-hour marathon of dancing, singing and living on adrenalin.
"Even when I do put on weight though, the fact that I have got a really pointy face and chin helps. Having an angular face means I can get away with a lot and I don’t have wrinkles yet.
“Luckily my figure hasn’t changed that much after having children and so far I’ve avoided getting cellulite. But I don’t consume loads of toxins and I am a healthy eater. I know a lot of women will have a glass of wine a day but I only drink every couple of weeks.”
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Samantha and Mark Womack
But, while she knows she’s lucky to have kept her youthful looks, Samantha hasn’t ruled out surgery in the future. “I would never say never to some sort of cosmetic work,” she says.
“There is pressure in this industry to look young and I want to work for as long as possible, although I certainly wouldn’t want to go down the line of wanting to look like a 20-year-old.
“If I had anything done it would be to maintain my looks and look the age I am. But I suppose I’ll have to wait to see how my body behaves itself.”
Later this year, the star turns 40 – and she’s looking forward to making the most of her milestone birthday.
“I can’t wait,” she says. “It’s a really great age and I feel more confident and happier than I have ever been.
“I think women are at their sexiest at this kind of age because they know what they want and are comfortable in their own skin.”
One person who appreciates her talent and good looks is Samantha’s husband Mark Womack. The couple have been together for 13 years after meeting on the set of police drama series Liverpool 1 and got married in June 2009.
They have two children Ben, aged 10, and Lily, six, and Mark has a son Michael, 16, from his first marriage.
“The last year has been really busy for both Mark and me and we really have been like ships that pass in the night,” says Samantha.
“We’ve survived like that for 13 years and, as actors, it goes with the territory. Our shared love is music, so to reconnect we’ll occasionally go to a concert.
“More often than not we’ll stay in and cuddle up on the sofa and watch a DVD. I am not big on glitzy dinners and roses – it’s the thoughtful gestures that count like Mark letting me have a lie in when I’m knackered. It’s the little things that go a long way in a relationship when you have kids.
“By Sunday night, we are usually so knackered that we tend to go to bed early – we have a massive bed and Mark will lie on one side with his headphones on listening to random obscure tunes on YouTube and I’ll be on the other side reading a book.”
At the moment though, touring the country with South Pacific means Samantha is spending more time than she’d like away from her family. “There are certain dates that I can commute from my house,” she says.
“I try not to be away from the kids wherever possible. But when they’re on school holidays they come with me so my dressing room is constantly trashed.”
And even after all these months away from Albert Square, Samantha still gets recognised in the street by fans of the show. “I went to Bicester Village to do my Christmas shopping last month,” she says.
“There were some kids outside the shop I was in and I didn’t have any make-up on and my hair was scraped back and they were shouting out ‘RON-NIE!’.
“I’m not a fan of the name Ronnie anyway. Rita Simons who plays Roxy used to jokingly call me Ronald McDonald. Ronnie sounds like an East End gangster – the name Roxy is so much cuter – so it’s not my favourite name to have shouted at me down the street.”
Samantha admits that while she misses the people on EastEnders, she doesn’t miss the early starts.
“I speak to Rita all the time – we are joined at the hip. And Scott Maslen (her on-screen husband Jack Branning), who I have known since I was 16. We still behave as if we are one happy, dysfunctional family. But I don’t miss the early mornings and if I wake up at 4.30am, I remember how my alarm would have been set for 5am. Now I don’t have to get up it’s heavenly.”
Samantha hasn’t ruled out a return to the BBC1 soap either.
“I would never say never about going back but it’s not right for me at this moment,” she says.
For now, she’s enjoying her time in the award-winning South Pacific. “Nellie is so different from Ronnie,” she says. “Ronnie was mysterious, dark and quite tragic whereas Nellie is naive and vulnerable but very upbeat.
“The hardest thing for me was to be totally uninhibited on stage because Ronnie was so guarded and damaged and it was difficult to get back into playing someone who is open and flings her arms about.”
However hard she’s finding it, she’s enjoying giving it a good go


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has revealed that she disagreed with EastEnders bosses' decision to kill off Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace).

Womack, who played Ronnie Mitchell until last year, watched her on-screen daughter run over by Janine (Charlie Brooks) in 2009.

"I found that really upsetting and disappointing," she told the Sunday Mercury. "They didn't get the chance to be mother and daughter.

"We dangled that carrot in front of viewers for such a long time and I wanted the audience to have a happy ending - but it wasn't to be."

Womack added: "It was awful when I read the script. It took me a week to recover from shooting those scenes."

With Ronnie's evil father Archie (Larry Lamb) doing all he could to stop the pair reuniting, Ronnie cradled Danielle as she died in her arms.

The 39-year-old actress recently questioned the integrity of the serial's baby swap storyline which led to her character's exit.


What is it with bringing up old storylines? Me thinks Ms Womack needs a job

Samantha Womack has revealed that she was offered several sociopathic roles after leaving EastEnders.

During her four-year stint on the Albert Square soap, Womack's character Ronnie Mitchell was revealed to be a victim of domestic abuse from evil dad Archie and became involved in a controversial baby swap storyline.

The 39-year-old told OK magazine: "All the jobs were psychopaths, or psychologically-challenged people.

"I wasn't remotely tempted to go down that road. I'm more chilled out now, and ready to go wherever the work leads me."

Womack is starring alongside fellow ex-EastEnders actor Alex Ferns (Trevor Morgan) in award-winning musical South Pacific.

Meanwhile, the actress added that she continues to stay in touch with former co-star Kacey Ainsworth, who played Little Mo.

"I still see Kacey now and then," she said. "We Facebook a lot. The other day she was doing Loose Women and I was on Daybreak, so we had a catch-up."

Is she coming back? Seems to be on the cover all the current soap mags