Steve McFadden who plays PhilQuote:
Originally Posted by Perdita
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Steve McFadden who plays PhilQuote:
Originally Posted by Perdita
I've just realised Jean's back for the funeral
Is this the end for Ronnie Branning ?
Samantha Womack, who plays the recently bereaved EastEnders character, has opted to bow out of the soap following the controversial baby-swap plot.
But Scott Maslen, who plays on-screen hubby Jack, says she could be back after a well-deserved break to be with her family.
Speaking from the red carpet at the National Television Awards, Scott insisted it wasn't the traumatic storyline that triggered Sam's departure.
"She's going to go away for a bit, she needs a bit of a break," he said.
"It was nothing to do with the story. That's not what triggered her leaving. Sam's been thinking about it for some time.
"She's got two kids, she works very hard and as a woman she wants to spend some time with her kids, which is natural and to be admired. She's going to have a little breather and who knows? She may well be back. You know what EastEnders is like."
Scenes shown over New Year saw a devastated Ronnie lose her baby son to cot death, before swapping him with Kat Moon's newborn.
Scott said some fans had found it hard to separate fact from fiction, and admitted Sam had found their reactions "scary".
"It's been horrible for her. There's always a sector of society that believe what we do on TV is real. I love the public, I'm one of them, I'm from round here, but you've got to know when something is real and when it's not.
"I know issues affect people and they respond to those things but you've got to be a bit more real and not go up to people on the street and say 'You shouldn't have done that.' She's had quite a lot of it.
"That's a little bit disheartening and scary for her. She doesn't like being the centre of attention for these sort of reasons. But she is big and strong and understands it."
How can Ronnie come back and live there after what she has done?
No it seems crazy that she could come back after that. But I guess stranger things have happened. Look at everything that Janine has done!
I think she does need a break. All the horrible stuff that has happened to Ronnie since she got to the square. I'm surprised she hasnt had to be sectioned yet. Think she needs to go and spend a few months at a spa.
Scott Maslen has confirmed that he will not be exiting EastEnders along with co-star Samantha Womack.
Womack announced her exit from the BBC soap in the middle of the controversy surrounding her ongoing baby swap plot last month. However, speaking to TV Times Maslen stated that although he is "sad" to see the actress move on, he has no plans to leave his role as Jack Branning.
"I'm not waltzing off anywhere!" he said.
Discussing Womack's decision, he commented: "We've been an item on the show for four years now and she's one of my best mates - a friend of the family.
"It is sad, but she's had a very hectic year or so," he added. "And it's about time she had a little break to see what else she wants to do."
Womack will make her departure when the storyline comes to a conclusion in April.
DS
I bet he gets with Vanessa or Roxy or both once Ronnie is goneQuote:
Originally Posted by Perdita
EastEnders star Samantha Womack is reportedly planning to return to the soap.
The actress, who plays Ronnie Mitchell, announced that she would be leaving after the controversial baby swap storyline concludes, but the News of the World claims that her character will only be written out of the show for 12 months.
A source said: "Sam went through a very difficult few weeks during the filming and airing of the baby swap plot. Everything got a bit too much for her and she said things that, on reflection, she now doesn't agree with.
"Sam stood up to speak at a meeting of the cast and producers to make it clear she is committed to the soap in the long-term and doesn't harbour any grudges. She has a lot going on in her life and wants to focus on other priorities for a year, then she'll return."
A BBC spokesperson today told DS that it was too early to discuss any rumoured 'plans' for 2012. However, they added: "As we've always said, the door is being left open for the character of Ronnie Branning to return at a later date."
Scott Maslen, who plays Jack Branning, is said to have encouraged her to return.
DS
I still like Ronnie, not what they did to her with this storyline, so if she returns I wouldn't mind. :)
I'm glad to hear Ronnie's returning.
Well if Dirty Den returned I'm sure the writers will come up with a daft storyline also for her to return even though she stole Kat's baby
I think Ronnie has faced so more there is nothing more for her character imo
she will probably get away with diminished responsibility
Courts in the UK have been known to accept post-natal depression as mitigating circumstances when sentencing women for crimes.
In the past UK courts have taken into consideration if a woman who had committed a crime was suffering from post-natal depression.
Samantha Womack has been tipped to tread the boards in South Pacific after she makes her departure from EastEnders.
According to the Daily Mail, the actress is in talks to take on the lead role of Nellie Forbush in a touring production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
Reports say that the show will begin in London in August before visiting various theatres across the UK from October to December.
Womack is expected to film her EastEnders exit in May. Her character Ronnie Branning is currently at the centre of the soap's controversial baby swap storyline, which will be resolved on screen before she leaves Albert Square.
The actress has previously starred in Grease and Guys and Dolls in the West End.
Womack's screen husband Scott Maslen (Jack Branning) recently said that the star "may well" return to EastEnders after taking a break from Walford. Meanwhile, recent reports suggested that she could be back on screen as early as 2012.
DS
Hang on.. Ronnie leaves in May but didn't they say that the baby swap storyline would be finished around easter??? so she will be in the square about a month after it is revealed or are they moving the story out to May?
The story is meant to conclude at Easter time, Easter is late April this year, so she probably leaves early May
The quote you gave from the Daily Mail however says, "Womack is expected to film her EastEnders exit in May", so if she's filming it in May doesn't that mean she will go in June some time?Quote:
Originally Posted by Perdita
*Holds up hands* Only quoting back what it being published, personally don't care :o
I wasn't having a go at you Perdy, I was just pointing out what the Daily Mail said, trying to get the time line right.Quote:
Originally Posted by Perdita
no offence, just quoting what I read :)
I think they went about the start of the story and afterwards the wrong way. The last couple of years shes had should have put her on course for a breakdown, if not having one. Finding her daughter was not dead after Archie telling her she had, then her being killed, then telling everyone her dad abused and raped her and he was the father of her child, that would have been enough to drive her over the edge. Then after all that, she gets some sort of normal lift and in love and pregnant , going to have another child that will be hers to watch over and see grow something she could not do with her first child, the baby dies. That ontop of the all before it would have been enough drive her over the edge and would go a bit radial rental, she looked to be in auto pilot with her dead baby in her hands.
Instead of the story of her being on the edge just a snap of the fingers being away from a total breakdown, they have her going about now as if nothing had happened.
She is not going about as if nothing has happened !!
EastEnders star Samantha Womack has admitted that she doesn't want a big fuss when she leaves the show.
The actress, who announced that she was leaving her role as Ronnie Branning earlier this year, confessed that she would rather say goodbye to her closest friends and slip away quietly.
Womack has already secured her next role, starring as Nellie Forbush in a touring production of South Pacific.
"I think I just want to creep out at the EastEnders leaving party, I don't want a big deal," she told the Sunday Mirror. "I will be saying goodbye to a lot of very close friends.
"I'll be telling them that I love them all dearly. I'll definitely miss Rita Simons (Roxy Mitchell) the most.Then I'll be going into South Pacific playing Nellie Forbush and rehearsals start soon. I need to stop eating and get my a**e into shape.
"My trick at the minute is to wear padded pointy shoulders as it cancels the rest of your body out. I can't wait to get my dancing shoes on as it's five years since I was last on stage, in Guys and Dolls."
DS
Scott Maslen has insisted that Samantha Womack has "not shut the door" on making a return to EastEnders in the future.
The actor - Jack Branning in the BBC soap - told ITV's This Morning that Womack, who plays his on-screen wife Ronnie, is taking a break because she is "knackered".
It was confirmed in January that the actress was to leave the programme, after a record number of complaints were received by the corporation over the controversial baby-swap plot.
"Sam's having a break," Maslen told presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford. "She's leaving the show for a period of time. She's not shut the door on EastEnders by any stretch because she loves it there. We all love it there."
He continued: "She's had a very intense few years. She's got kids - she just wants to have a bit of a break and go about life. It's not story-related - I know there was a lot of stuff that came out at the time that she didn't like the storyline and that was blown out of all proportion. She's knackered. She's had a lot of stuff going on over the last couple of years."
Speaking about the storyline, which was brought to an early conclusion last week as Ronnie returned baby Tommy to Kat Moon, Maslen insisted that he trusts the soap's storyliners.
"I trust the BBC and the people that come up with stories. EastEnders is always dealing with issues and stories and this is soap, so you're always on a very fine line," he said. "As actors we don't crave stuff like this but you enjoy getting into your work so this was a challenge, and a challenge that me and Sam enjoyed.
"It's not a story that I enjoyed because we've all got kids and we all know what the implications of these sort of things are. It's a tragic story but I felt that in the circumstances we played it really well and that was the very positive thing to come out of it."
He added: "You have to keep yourself very focused on what you're doing and not listen to what other people are saying about things, otherwise it influences it."
DS
I'm not surprised Samantha Womack wants a break from EE - playing unhappy Ronnie these last few years must have been stressful. I'd like to see her back in EE in the future, hopefully playing a happier Ronnie.
She did a fine job. She was again brill today. She played it with so much persuasion.
Rita Simons has confessed that she is heartbroken over EastEnders co-star Samantha Womack's departure from the soap.
Womack announced in January that she would exit the soap later this year to pursue other projects.
Simons, who previously said that she was "dreading" the loss of her on-screen sister, told The Sun's Buzz that she has struggled to come to terms with Womack's final days on set.
"Sam's gone and it has ripped my heart out. It may sound strange, but it really does feel like a family member has died," Simons revealed.
However, Simons went on to reveal her hopes for Roxy's future character development, explaining that the rivalry caused by EastEnders' controversial baby swap plotline could propel her storyline forward.
"I want problems and proper fighting... I'd like her to have a long relationship," Simons explained. "There is great potential with her and Michael [Moon]. You can see it now - the Mitchells versus the Moons."
Ronnie is suppose to leave pregnant by Michael
EastEnders' executive producer Bryan Kirkwood has reiterated that the soap's team are eager to see Samantha Womack return to Walford at some point in the future.
Womack recently filmed her final scenes as Ronnie Branning after four years playing the troubled character. Her decision to take a break from the show emerged in January amid the controversy which surrounded Ronnie's baby swap storyline.
Answering viewer questions on This Morning today, Kirkwood was asked whether the door is still being left open for Ronnie to make a return.
He replied: "Absolutely, yeah. Sam filmed her final scenes with us a few weeks ago and we'll see her exit storyline unfold over the coming weeks. She's much-loved and much-missed, so we'd love to have Sam back at any time in the future."
Reflecting on the baby swap row, he said: "I think hindsight's a brilliant thing and perhaps we misjudged the audience's appetite to see Ronnie cry yet again. She'd been crying for three years up until that point, and here was another storyline that had her on her knees.
"But at the same time, I'm really proud of the storyline. I think the episodes in April where Kat got her baby back were EastEnders at its best. I think they were brilliant episodes."
Kirkwood also insisted that Womack's decision to bow out from EastEnders was not influenced by the tragic storyline.
"I took over in March of last year and I knew that it was going to be Sam's last year on the show at that point," he said. "So we embarked on the storyline knowing that it would lead to Ronnie and Sam's exit."
Womack's latest project sees her take on the role of Nellie Forbrush in a touring production of South Pacific.
SAMANTHA Womack has spoken for the first time about quitting EastEnders, saying the baby-swap plot left her "physically and emotionally shattered".
The story made her realise she could no longer cope with her character's harrowing life.
The actress, 38, said: "I worked out I'd been crying or screaming at work every day for six days a week for over two years. Can you imagine how exhausting and tiring that is?"
Samantha, who played troubled Ronnie Mitchell for four years, added: "You're crying, weeping and telling your brain something awful has happened, so of course that is going to affect you and your body. My brain may know I am acting, but my body was doing a different thing.
"I needed to stop and find some peace, a bit like Ronnie."
Samantha's final scenes on the BBC1 soap air next week. She quit over the plot which saw Ronnie snatch Kat Moon's baby after her own baby's death. Her last moments on the soap will show Ronnie facing trial for the kidnap.
The baby-snatching storyline caused a furore last Christmas - but Samantha, shown below with screen husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) has remained silent until now.
She explained: "I didn't speak out because I didn't want to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and reignite the situation.
"But now I think it's important to set the record straight and tell my side. I did find the storyline very difficult to play. It was draining emotionally and physically and by the end I was shattered."
She realised what a toll the soap was taking on her after totting up all the horrors her character had faced since she first appeared in 2007.
The misery included incest, rape, miscarriage, a cheating husband and seeing long-lost daughter Danielle die in front of her.
But Samantha tells the new issue of Hello! magazine - out today - that soap bosses are under huge pressure to come up with attention-grabbing plots.
She said: "Unfortunately, because of the way television is going - and by that I don't just mean just soap, but reality and also drama - there is a massive consumer need for controversy and high-risk storylines. We may not like it, but the viewing figures go through the roof."
Samantha, mum to Benjamin, ten and Lili-Rose, six, wasted no time in showing her relief after her final scenes.
As soon as she finished filming, she rushed to change her hairstyle so she no longer looked like the character.
She said: "Ronnie's blonde locks were the first to go.
"I wanted to look different, I had my hair cut shorter and went red. It felt liberating, especially walking down the street afterwards as nobody recognised me."
But Samantha - who changed her name from Janus when she wed actor Mark Womack - said she still fels passionate for the former Queen Vic barmaid.
She said Ronnie was "the most damaged character I've ever played but I loved her and she's under my skin".
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz1QXmhLsze
:rolleyes: Why always these contradicting stories .. one minute she left because of the storyline, the next she did not :wall:
Good on her for speaking about what it does to an actress. The emotions have to come from somewhere!. I thought she did a good job. Playing an undercooled character whith all those emotions.
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.”
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/ja...y-89564239.jpg
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
Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/...#ixzz1k4J1W87W
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