Danniella Westbrook has hinted she could be making an explosive return to 'EastEnders as Sam Mitchell this year. The 42-year-old actress has been in ''talks'' with producers about reprising her role as the blonde bombshell in the BBC One soap as bosses attempt to reunite the whole Mitchell clan to bid farewell to matriarch Peggy (Dame Barbara Windsor, 78), as she loses her battle with cancer. Speaking on 'This Morning today (08.02.16), she said: ''They're [the bosses] in talks with my agent at the moment ... But you will probably see a bit of Sam Mitchell this year.'' However, the troubled star...
- 2/8/2016
- Virgin Media - TV
Danniella Westbrook is reportedly being lined up to make a shock return to 'EastEnders' later this year. The troubled actress, who is currently appearing in 'Celebrity Big Brother', is set to reprise her role as mega bitch Sam Mitchell in the BBC One soap as bosses attempt to rekindle the whole Mitchell clan to bid farewell to matriarch Peggy (Dame Barbara Windsor, 78), as she loses her battle with cancer. A spokesperson for the show told the Daily Mirror newspaper: ''Peggy's final episodes are still being finalised so it is too early to say if any other characters from the Mitchell...
- 1/18/2016
- Virgin Media - TV
Danniella Westbrook is to reprise her role in 'Hollyoaks'. The 41-year-old actress has reportedly been offered the chance to return to the Channel 4 soap - which she starred on from 2012 to 2013 - as ex-jailbird Trudy Ryan. A source told The Sun newspaper: ''It's a huge thing for Danniella. ''She has been through a lot of financial hardship over recent times. ''Now she's going to be earning a good wage back on TV like the old days. Hopefully, this will really help her turn a corner.'' The former 'EastEnders' star, who played Sam Mitchell on the soap from 1990 to 2000 and again...
- 3/31/2015
- Virgin Media - TV
Danniella Westbrook reportedly plans to marry her fiancé Tom Richards ''by the end of the year''. The 40-year-old former actress, best known for her portrayal of Sam Mitchell in 'EastEnders', initially split from her 24-year-old boyfriend after she confessed to a drug relapse which resulted in her having an affair with a cocaine dealer in Magaluf, Spain. However, it's now been reported the pair are back together and she's said to be planning to divorce her estranged husband of 12 years, Kevin Jenkins to allow her to re-marry by the end of 2014. A source told The Sun newspaper: ''They got back together...
- 8/28/2014
- Virgin Media - TV
In 100 years of cinema, no American woman director has ever been invited to join the pantheon of international auteur directors. Non-American women directors like Andrea Arnold, Jane Campion, Liliana Cavani, Claire Denis, Marleen Gorris, Agnieszka Holland, Lynne Ramsay, Agnes Varda, Lina Wertmuller among others-- directors with bodies of work that match those of their male counterparts-- hardly exist in America, with the possible exceptions of masterful experimental directors, Maya Daren and Nina Menkes.
Kathryn Bigelow, who could be a top contender for American auteur director, had to leave America, after six years of unemployment, to seek financing in Europe, and is still not included with men among auteur directors. Other successful women directors who have made both commercially and critically successful features in America are mostly film and TV stars: Drew Barrymore, Jodie Foster, Penny Marshall, Barbra Streisand, Betty Thomas, to name a few. These directors have done fine work, but mostly within the confines of the studio system where, just once in a blue moon, a director like Nora Ephron, Catherina Hardwicke, Mimi Leder or Nancy Meyers can carve a niche.
The question arises, who are the American women directors whose films reveal the work of an auteur director? One could jump in with dozens of directors, from Anders, Arzner, Bigelow, Cholondenko, Coppola, Coolidge, Dash, Dunham, Hardwicke & Holofcener— just to start through the alphabet, but like Bigelow, none of these excellent directors is embraced as an auteur by the paternalist American film establishment.
In the United States less than 5% of feature films are directed by women, so for a director to emerge who is not already a women celebrity, is virtually impossible. Women directors usually make just one film before getting taken down early in the pipeline: if it’s not the misogynistic Hollywood studio system that expels them, their films are given paltry distribution and P&A budgets, or sometimes gender-biased critics comprised of over 80% males will likely taint their reviews.
One perfect example of a very fine American woman director whose body of work clearly distinguishes her as an auteur director is Jane Spencer. Jane Spencer is the director of the beloved low-budget indie feature Little Noises that premiered at Sundance some years ago to ecstatic reviews— and enamored audiences, and of Faces On Mars, which premiered in Europe at Solothurn. Her new film, The Ninth Cloud, which is being repped for distribution by Shoreline Entertainment is a dreamy, surreal marvel, which could do very well on the 2014 international festival circuit.
For Spencer, who dreams big, but must keep her budget small, ingenuity is the name of the game. As she says, “My dream as a kid was to direct big David Lean-style epics, so working within the framework I can create, I try to imbue my indie films with giant, epic themes.” Imagine if women directors like Spencer were afforded the budgets and opportunities to realize their immense talents for creating epic, visionary films.
I have always thought that film directors are like alchemists and magicians, but women directors have to be able to master another kind of magic as well: film financing in a void. Most women directors must cobble their production budgets together in any number of mysterious ways, and I wanted to know how Spencer had done it again. How did she succeed in making yet another wonderful feature film? How had she found the money?
Spencer answered the question with a question: “In an industry so difficult for women directors, how can any women director raise the money to make a film? You are basically forced to think outside the box. You just can’t give up. You try all the traditional methods: submit your script to actors, agents, studios, production companies, get it to friends in the business. They almost always lead to dead ends.
“So, finally, you go out and find it dollar-by-dollar— private equity from investors who like the project obviously, private loans you— yourself— take out. You get everything on the cheap, but keep the quality; get everyone to do you favors, but make sure they ‘get it’ and believe in the film. That’s the only way an American woman can make an indie feature film.”
Spencer shot The Ninth Cloud on super 16mm. Having a film camera instead of shooting digitally gives The Ninth Cloud a look that is simultaneously both very modern and nostalgic. As Spencer says, “It allows for the documentary, free-camera look I wanted to capture inspired by films like The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Darling, and Billy Liar. These low-budget 1960’s British kitchen sink films were an inspiration for Spencer, her Production Designer/Producer Richard Hudson and her Dp, Sam Mitchell. She goes on, “I wanted the film to express an impressionistic vision of Zena’s (the main character) world.”
In the film, in which we follow the dreamy, strange Zena, through what turn out to be her final days....Spencer glorifies the vulnerable Zena through a nuanced appreciation for her ability to “see.” Keeping her indie budget low, Spencer uses inexpensive, old film technology to record her character’s fleeting, childlike, and magical perception of the world around her—and it works beautifully. The film captures the elusive, dream-like moments, as fleeting as a painter’s sudden awareness of reflected sunlight glancing off rippling water-- impressionism-- that gets at the essence of art, and is the very reason we revere our great male “Masters of Cinema.”
As Spencer puts it: “I wanted to depict, from a women’s perspective for once, the victorious dreamer. One doesn’t have to accept ‘reality’ to live a meaningful life. Whatever your journey is—stay with your dream. You cannot be dissuaded by pressure to conform to social norms, systems, or institutions that tell you ‘cannot' because it’s 'unrealistic' or 'impossible.'"
We all know that numerically, becoming a female film director in America is virtually impossible— as former DGA president, Martha Coolidge says: “like winning the lottery.” It’s a bizarre anomaly that America, the leader of the free world, virtually excludes women from its most culturally influential global export—media. Hollywood’s level of support of women film directors is among the worst in the world, something that is now accentuated by the recent drafting of international charters that promote the gender equity among women directors in many countries outside the United States.
However, making feature films that move and inspire audiences is Spencer’s quest and she has not been dissuaded by statistics. She says: “This was a very, very difficult film to finance. We had some wonderful equity investors, our own company invested a lot of the money-- especially for post, and there turned out to be not many pre-sales. It was very much patchwork financing, very hard, and we filmed it over the space of a year, in sections, because budget-wise, we had to.”
Even after her critical success at Sundance her studio meetings were difficult. After years of struggling to get financed out of L.A., Spencer happened to move to Europe for personal reasons, and immediately had much better luck.
"We got it done-- though at times we didn’t think we would. We started financing in 2008 when the financial crisis happened, so some of our financiers fell out. Our wonderful male lead at the time, Guillaume Depardieu, whom I adored, died of pneumonia on a set in Romania. I really wondered if this film would happen - for a moment. But then the producers and I got right back up on our feet and started financing it again. We found the amazing lead actress Megan Maczko in a play on London’s West End....Michael Madsen, who is great in the film—so sympathetic -- playing a dishwasher/poet (instead of a guy with a gun) - was lovely and stayed with the project....and we got the great French actor Jean Hugues Anglade onboard - We got right back up on our feet and started financing it again. By 2011 we had finished shooting. We’ve been in post for two years: all of 2012 and much of 2013.”
All the hard work has been well worth the effort. Spencer’s multi-layered film is woven with themes of Djuna Barnes and Baudelaire and traverses the landscapes of Marcel Carne and Antonioni. What makes the film so exceptional is how freshly these motifs have been re-imagined through this director’s effortless lens. The Ninth Cloud is at once tender and deeply moving, yet it manages to reject sentimentalities while glorifying its heroine and uplifting the audience.
Will women directors like Spencer ever join the pantheon of international male auteur directors? That depends upon the whether or not the U.S. cultural consciousness evolves to finally embrace gender equity in our nation’s most influential global export—media. Only then will women directors get the budgets and opportunities to test their metal and take their rightful places in the annals of American cinema.
The Ninth Cloud will be opening in select theaters internationally starting 2014.
Please visit The Int’l List of Living Women Directors: http://www.womendirectorsinhollywood.com/
Marie Giese is American feature film director, a writer, a member & elected Director Category Representative for women at the DGA. She graduated from Wellesley College and UCLA graduate film schooland co-founded the foremost international web forum for political action for women directors (Visit Here). An activist for parity for women directors in Hollywood, she is in development to direct two feature films Rain and Treasure Hunt...
Kathryn Bigelow, who could be a top contender for American auteur director, had to leave America, after six years of unemployment, to seek financing in Europe, and is still not included with men among auteur directors. Other successful women directors who have made both commercially and critically successful features in America are mostly film and TV stars: Drew Barrymore, Jodie Foster, Penny Marshall, Barbra Streisand, Betty Thomas, to name a few. These directors have done fine work, but mostly within the confines of the studio system where, just once in a blue moon, a director like Nora Ephron, Catherina Hardwicke, Mimi Leder or Nancy Meyers can carve a niche.
The question arises, who are the American women directors whose films reveal the work of an auteur director? One could jump in with dozens of directors, from Anders, Arzner, Bigelow, Cholondenko, Coppola, Coolidge, Dash, Dunham, Hardwicke & Holofcener— just to start through the alphabet, but like Bigelow, none of these excellent directors is embraced as an auteur by the paternalist American film establishment.
In the United States less than 5% of feature films are directed by women, so for a director to emerge who is not already a women celebrity, is virtually impossible. Women directors usually make just one film before getting taken down early in the pipeline: if it’s not the misogynistic Hollywood studio system that expels them, their films are given paltry distribution and P&A budgets, or sometimes gender-biased critics comprised of over 80% males will likely taint their reviews.
One perfect example of a very fine American woman director whose body of work clearly distinguishes her as an auteur director is Jane Spencer. Jane Spencer is the director of the beloved low-budget indie feature Little Noises that premiered at Sundance some years ago to ecstatic reviews— and enamored audiences, and of Faces On Mars, which premiered in Europe at Solothurn. Her new film, The Ninth Cloud, which is being repped for distribution by Shoreline Entertainment is a dreamy, surreal marvel, which could do very well on the 2014 international festival circuit.
For Spencer, who dreams big, but must keep her budget small, ingenuity is the name of the game. As she says, “My dream as a kid was to direct big David Lean-style epics, so working within the framework I can create, I try to imbue my indie films with giant, epic themes.” Imagine if women directors like Spencer were afforded the budgets and opportunities to realize their immense talents for creating epic, visionary films.
I have always thought that film directors are like alchemists and magicians, but women directors have to be able to master another kind of magic as well: film financing in a void. Most women directors must cobble their production budgets together in any number of mysterious ways, and I wanted to know how Spencer had done it again. How did she succeed in making yet another wonderful feature film? How had she found the money?
Spencer answered the question with a question: “In an industry so difficult for women directors, how can any women director raise the money to make a film? You are basically forced to think outside the box. You just can’t give up. You try all the traditional methods: submit your script to actors, agents, studios, production companies, get it to friends in the business. They almost always lead to dead ends.
“So, finally, you go out and find it dollar-by-dollar— private equity from investors who like the project obviously, private loans you— yourself— take out. You get everything on the cheap, but keep the quality; get everyone to do you favors, but make sure they ‘get it’ and believe in the film. That’s the only way an American woman can make an indie feature film.”
Spencer shot The Ninth Cloud on super 16mm. Having a film camera instead of shooting digitally gives The Ninth Cloud a look that is simultaneously both very modern and nostalgic. As Spencer says, “It allows for the documentary, free-camera look I wanted to capture inspired by films like The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Darling, and Billy Liar. These low-budget 1960’s British kitchen sink films were an inspiration for Spencer, her Production Designer/Producer Richard Hudson and her Dp, Sam Mitchell. She goes on, “I wanted the film to express an impressionistic vision of Zena’s (the main character) world.”
In the film, in which we follow the dreamy, strange Zena, through what turn out to be her final days....Spencer glorifies the vulnerable Zena through a nuanced appreciation for her ability to “see.” Keeping her indie budget low, Spencer uses inexpensive, old film technology to record her character’s fleeting, childlike, and magical perception of the world around her—and it works beautifully. The film captures the elusive, dream-like moments, as fleeting as a painter’s sudden awareness of reflected sunlight glancing off rippling water-- impressionism-- that gets at the essence of art, and is the very reason we revere our great male “Masters of Cinema.”
As Spencer puts it: “I wanted to depict, from a women’s perspective for once, the victorious dreamer. One doesn’t have to accept ‘reality’ to live a meaningful life. Whatever your journey is—stay with your dream. You cannot be dissuaded by pressure to conform to social norms, systems, or institutions that tell you ‘cannot' because it’s 'unrealistic' or 'impossible.'"
We all know that numerically, becoming a female film director in America is virtually impossible— as former DGA president, Martha Coolidge says: “like winning the lottery.” It’s a bizarre anomaly that America, the leader of the free world, virtually excludes women from its most culturally influential global export—media. Hollywood’s level of support of women film directors is among the worst in the world, something that is now accentuated by the recent drafting of international charters that promote the gender equity among women directors in many countries outside the United States.
However, making feature films that move and inspire audiences is Spencer’s quest and she has not been dissuaded by statistics. She says: “This was a very, very difficult film to finance. We had some wonderful equity investors, our own company invested a lot of the money-- especially for post, and there turned out to be not many pre-sales. It was very much patchwork financing, very hard, and we filmed it over the space of a year, in sections, because budget-wise, we had to.”
Even after her critical success at Sundance her studio meetings were difficult. After years of struggling to get financed out of L.A., Spencer happened to move to Europe for personal reasons, and immediately had much better luck.
"We got it done-- though at times we didn’t think we would. We started financing in 2008 when the financial crisis happened, so some of our financiers fell out. Our wonderful male lead at the time, Guillaume Depardieu, whom I adored, died of pneumonia on a set in Romania. I really wondered if this film would happen - for a moment. But then the producers and I got right back up on our feet and started financing it again. We found the amazing lead actress Megan Maczko in a play on London’s West End....Michael Madsen, who is great in the film—so sympathetic -- playing a dishwasher/poet (instead of a guy with a gun) - was lovely and stayed with the project....and we got the great French actor Jean Hugues Anglade onboard - We got right back up on our feet and started financing it again. By 2011 we had finished shooting. We’ve been in post for two years: all of 2012 and much of 2013.”
All the hard work has been well worth the effort. Spencer’s multi-layered film is woven with themes of Djuna Barnes and Baudelaire and traverses the landscapes of Marcel Carne and Antonioni. What makes the film so exceptional is how freshly these motifs have been re-imagined through this director’s effortless lens. The Ninth Cloud is at once tender and deeply moving, yet it manages to reject sentimentalities while glorifying its heroine and uplifting the audience.
Will women directors like Spencer ever join the pantheon of international male auteur directors? That depends upon the whether or not the U.S. cultural consciousness evolves to finally embrace gender equity in our nation’s most influential global export—media. Only then will women directors get the budgets and opportunities to test their metal and take their rightful places in the annals of American cinema.
The Ninth Cloud will be opening in select theaters internationally starting 2014.
Please visit The Int’l List of Living Women Directors: http://www.womendirectorsinhollywood.com/
Marie Giese is American feature film director, a writer, a member & elected Director Category Representative for women at the DGA. She graduated from Wellesley College and UCLA graduate film schooland co-founded the foremost international web forum for political action for women directors (Visit Here). An activist for parity for women directors in Hollywood, she is in development to direct two feature films Rain and Treasure Hunt...
- 12/9/2013
- by Maria Giese
- Sydney's Buzz
London, Apr 4: EastEnders star Danniella Westbrook was kidnapped at gunpoint and raped by a gang of drug dealers after failing to pay a 5,000-pound cocaine debt, according to reports.
According to the Sunday People, the Brit actress was held for three days in a grimy flat where she was subjected to a series of hellish sex assaults by three thugs, the Mirror reported.
Their evil behaviour was a punishment for not being able to pay for the Class A drug that had almost killed her.
Westbrook, who had just quit the BBC1 soap in which she played Sam Mitchell, was addicted to cocaine at the time of the horrific ordeal.
"It.
According to the Sunday People, the Brit actress was held for three days in a grimy flat where she was subjected to a series of hellish sex assaults by three thugs, the Mirror reported.
Their evil behaviour was a punishment for not being able to pay for the Class A drug that had almost killed her.
Westbrook, who had just quit the BBC1 soap in which she played Sam Mitchell, was addicted to cocaine at the time of the horrific ordeal.
"It.
- 4/14/2013
- by Abhijeet Sen
- RealBollywood.com
Danniella Westbrook says her new 'Hollyoaks' character is ''seriously warped''. The 39-year-old actress will make her debut in the Channel 4 soap as Trudy - an ex-convict and former cellmate of Jacqui McQueen (Claire Cooper) - this week, and when she read the script she couldn't believe some of the ''shocking'' behaviour her alter-ego resorts to in the show. She said: ''I was thinking you have to be seriously warped to play this character. Some of the stuff Trudy does was shocking.'' While Danniella hasn't had a major soap role since portraying Sam Mitchell in 'EastEnders' in the 1990s, the blonde...
- 2/18/2013
- Virgin Media - TV
Danniella Westbrook says her new 'Hollyoaks' character is ''seriously warped''. The 39-year-old actress will make her debut in the Channel 4 soap as Trudy - an ex-convict and former cellmate of Jacqui McQueen (Claire Cooper) - this week, and when she read the script she couldn't believe some of the ''shocking'' behaviour her alter-ego resorts to in the show. She exclusively told Bang Showbiz: ''I was thinking you have to be seriously warped to play this character. Some of the stuff Trudy does was shocking.'' While Danniella hasn't had a major soap role since portraying Sam Mitchell in 'EastEnders' in the...
- 2/18/2013
- Virgin Media - Celebrity
Danniella Westbrook wants to star in 'Mr Selfridge'. As well as the ITV period drama, the 39-year-old actress - who previously played Sam Mitchell in 'EastEnders' in the 1990s - would love to appear in BBC shows 'Prisoner's Wives' or 'Call the Midwife' because the time they are set in is so different from the world nowadays. She said: ''I really like watching 'Mr Selfridge' so I would quite like to star in something like that. A really good period drama like that or 'Prisoner's Wives' or 'Call the Midwife', something from around the Krays' era. ''People just love those shows...
- 2/13/2013
- Virgin Media - TV
Danniella Westbrook wants to star in 'Mr Selfridge'. As well as the ITV period drama, the 39-year-old actress - who previously played Sam Mitchell in 'EastEnders' in the 1990s - would love to appear in BBC shows 'Prisoner's Wives' or 'Call the Midwife' because the time they are set in is so different from the world nowadays. She exclusively told Bang Showbiz: ''I really like watching 'Mr Selfridge' so I would quite like to star in something like that. A really good period drama like that or 'Prisoner's Wives' or 'Call the Midwife', something from around the Krays' era. ''People just...
- 2/13/2013
- Virgin Media - Celebrity
Danniella Westbrook wants to star in 'Mr Selfridge'. As well as the ITV period drama, the 39-year-old actress - who previously played Sam Mitchell in 'EastEnders' in the 1990s - would love to appear in BBC shows 'Prisoner's Wives' or 'Call the Midwife' because the time they are set in is so different from the world nowadays. She said: ''I really like watching 'Mr Selfridge' so I would quite like to star in something like that. A really good period drama like that or 'Prisoner's Wives' or 'Call the Midwife', something from around the Krays' era. ''People just love those shows...
- 2/11/2013
- Virgin Media - TV
Former EastEnders star Danniella Westbrook has signed up for a role on Hollyoaks, Digital Spy can confirm. The actress, best known for playing Walford's Sam Mitchell, will feature in an upcoming storyline with the Channel 4 soap's McQueen family. Westbrook's character Trudy will be seen on screen from February when she hires cash-strapped Jacqui (Claire Cooper) and Theresa (Jorgie Porter) as cleaners. While exact details (more)...
- 12/29/2012
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
EastEnders star Danniella Westbrook has outlined her desire to star in hit ITV comedy Benidorm. The 38-year-old has only worked sporadically since leaving her famous role of Sam Mitchell in the Albert Square soap. Regarding her future plans, she told the Daily Star Sunday: "I'm having meetings with people but I don't know what's coming up, you just need to have faith. "If I could have any job in the world it would be Benidorm - an old trollop from Essex." Praising the sitcom's lead writer, she added: "I love Derren Litten's writing, it's (more)...
- 7/15/2012
- by By Paul Millar
- Digital Spy
Former EastEnders star Kim Medcalf has revealed that fans still approach her in public. The actress, who played Sam Mitchell for three years from 2002, admitted that she is surprised people still remember her from the BBC One soap. "I'm still completely amazed that people know me from the show!" Medcalf told Inside Soap magazine. "The public often want to talk about Sam. "I left six years ago, so it always surprises me that people might still remember me from that. But I suppose that's the power of EastEnders, isn't it? "My favourite moments on the show were (more)...
- 11/19/2011
- by By Colin Daniels
- Digital Spy
EastEnders' Sam Mitchell is to declare her love for former flame Ricky Butcher. The feisty blonde - who is played by Danniella Westbrook - is unsure of who is the dad of her new baby son, but has already decided who she wants to play the father figure. After naming the child Richard, Sam declares her love to Ricky (Sid Owen), despite him already being married to mouthy redhead Bianca (Patsy Palmer). However, Bianca decides to take matters into her own hands, and persuades Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) he can't just ignore the fact that the child could be his. Despite Sam eventually agreeing to ..
- 9/13/2010
- Virgin Media - TV
EastEnders' Ronnie Mitchell and Bianca Butcher will clash, as they argue over the identity of Sam Mitchell's baby's father. Both Ronnie (Sam Womack) and Bianca (Patsy Palmer) dread the thought of either of their respective partners being revealed as the child's dad. The Daily Star reports that the two end up fighting at Janine's hen party, after a heated exchange. "Ronnie and Bianca are both in exactly the same position," an insider told the paper. "Neither wants their man to be the father of Sam's baby but Bianca just can’t help herself and asks (more)...
- 9/6/2010
- by By Ryan Love
- Digital Spy
EastEnders' Sam Mitchell will reportedly create a stir on her return to Albert Square. It was confirmed last month that Danniella Westbrook will reappear in Walford with a "big secret". The Mirror reports that she will make her return at the christening of Heather Trott's (Cheryl Fergison) baby George. In scenes to air this summer, Sam will be seen kissing old friend Minty (Cliff Parisi), leaving Heather devastated. "Sam certainly creates a stir when she turns up. The question is if she is interested (more)...
- 7/16/2010
- by By Ryan Love
- Digital Spy
Sam Mitchell will reportedly be pregnant when she returns to 'EastEnders'. The feisty blonde - played by Danniella Westbrook - will stun both viewers and Albert Square residents when she returns from prison claiming to be expecting Ricky Butcher's (Sid Owen) baby. A source said: ''When Sam went to prison she told her family, including her mum Peggy, that she wanted nothing more to do with them. ''Viewers know nothing about her life inside so imagine the shock they'll get when they see her heavily pregnant. She's made some comebacks but this one will definitely be the best.'' The insider admits that Sam's pregnancy causes ..
- 6/28/2010
- Virgin Media - TV
Sam Mitchell will reportedly be pregnant when she returns to EastEnders later this year. The character, played by Danniella Westbrook, will allegedly claim that the baby is Ricky Butcher's (Sid Owen), although it could also be Jack Branning's (Scott Maslen). A source told the Daily Star Sunday: "When Sam went to prison she told her family, including her mum Peggy, that she wanted nothing more to do with them. "Viewers know nothing about her life inside so imagine the shock they’ll get when they see her heavily pregnant. She’s made some comebacks but this one will definitely be the best. "She tells her family that the child is Ricky’s, causing all sorts of problems for him and wife Bianca. (more)...
- 6/27/2010
- by By Colin Daniels
- Digital Spy
Danniella Westbrook will return to 'EastEnders' as Sam Mitchell later this year. The brazen blonde is due to appear back in Walford over the next few months with a big secret - which is expected to coincide with Barbara Windsor's exit as her legendary screen mum, Peggy Mitchell. Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood said: ''When Sam Mitchell is in Albert Square, trouble is never far behind. We last saw her heading for a stretch in prison and ostracised by her family. ''When she returns on her release, it's with a lot of grudges and a big secret. Danniella brings a lot of fun and mischief ..
- 6/7/2010
- Virgin Media - TV
Actress Danniella Westbrook will once again return to EastEnders as Sam Mitchell, Digital Spy can confirm. The 36-year-old - who recently finished fourth in this year's series of Dancing On Ice - makes her comeback in the summer for a handful of episodes. Little is known about the circumstances surrounding Sam's reappearance in Walford, other than that she is released from prison harbouring grudges and "a big secret". It is thought her return will coincide with Barbara Windsor's departure as Peggy Mitchell, after 15 years in the role. Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood this afternoon told Digital Spy: "When Sam Mitchell is in Albert Square, trouble is never far behind. We last saw her heading for a stretch in prison and ostracised by her family. When she returns on her release, it's with a lot of grudges and a big secret." (more)...
- 6/6/2010
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
Former EastEnders star Danniella Westbrook has praised the decision to bring Alfie and Kat Moon back to Albert Square. Earlier this month, it was announced that Shane Richie and Jessie Wallace had both signed up to reprise their roles on the BBC soap, meaning that Alfie and Kat will be reunited on screen later this year. Responding to the news, Westbrook - who played Sam Mitchell - told Star magazine: "I loved Kat and Alfie! It's cool bringing back old faces because that's what the fans want to see. It makes the show real because (more)...
- 2/23/2010
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
Danniella Westbrook has voiced her support for the decision to reunite Ricky Butcher and Bianca Jackson in EastEnders. The soap favourites, played by Sid Owen and Patsy Palmer, are to tie the knot next month in the BBC show's 25th anniversary week. Westbrook has now insisted that the programme's producers have made the right choice in putting the pair back together, even though her character Sam Mitchell had feelings for Ricky. She told The Mirror: (more)...
- 1/5/2010
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
Danniella Westbrook has claimed that the door is being left open for her to return to EastEnders. The actress finished filming a three-month stint with the BBC soap late last year, though her character Sam Mitchell has not yet bowed out on screen. Westbrook's brief return saw her playing the part of Sam for the first time in nine years. However, Kim Medcalf had appeared in the role between 2002 and 2005. Speaking to The Mirror about Sam's future, Westbrook explained: "I can't reveal (more)...
- 1/5/2010
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
Kim Medcalf has flown out to Thailand to visit children who were orphaned in the 2004 tsunami. The former EastEnders star, who temporarily took over the role of Sam Mitchell from Danniella Westbrook between 2001 and 2005, was invited over by children's charity Plan UK to mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster. Medcalf, who is 16 weeks pregnant with her first child, told The Sun: "As a mother-to-be, it's particularly upsetting and emotional to hear what happened to them. (more)...
- 12/21/2009
- by By Rebecca Davies
- Digital Spy
Kim Medcalf has flown out to Thailand to visit children who were orphaned in the 2004 tsunami. The former EastEnders star, who temporarily took over the role of Sam Mitchell from Danniella Westbrook between 2001 and 2005, was invited over by children's charity Plan UK to mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster. Medcalf, who is 16 weeks pregnant with her first child, told The Sun: "As a mother-to-be, it's particularly upsetting and emotional to hear what happened to them. (more)...
- 12/21/2009
- by By Rebecca Davies
- Digital Spy
Former Hollyoaks producer Bryan Kirkwood is to take the helm at the BBC's flagship soap EastEnders after Diederick Santer steps down following the show's 25th anniversary. Since taking over in October 2006, Santer has pioneered EastEnders through some of its most powerful and controversial storylines of recent years, including the Tony/Whitney paedophile plot, Danielle's death and Stacey's bipolar. His time in office has also seen the return of a handful of the soap's iconic characters, such as Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen), Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer), the original Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook) and from early next year, the rest of the Jackson clan, including Carol, Sonia, Robbie and Billy. Santer also introduced the show's most successful Asian family the Masoods into Walford and spearheaded the Bradley/Stacey/Max Christmas (more)...
- 11/2/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook) and Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) end up in a passionate embrace during tonight's EastEnders as Sam begins to question her future with Ricky. Having realised how much Bianca's brood means to Ricky (Sid Owen) - and having discovered that Tiffany is his daughter - Sam decides to move back into The Vic with her family. Phil, however, insists that she quit (more)...
- 10/16/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
Danniella Westbrook returned to EastEnders for the fourth time in September, making an immediate impact on Albert Square as the feisty Sam Mitchell. The soap star's troubled private life during her youth was lived out in the tabloid press, as she achieved notoriety for her turbulent relationship with Brian Harvey, her brief appearance on I'm A Celebrity... and her battles with cocaine addiction. Keep reading to find out ten facts that you probably didn't know about the Walthamstow actress. 1. Danniella was born in Walthamstow, East London on November 5, 1973. Her father Andy was a taxi driver and her mother Sue was a shop assistant. 2. Westbrook is one of the many celebrities to have come from the Sylvia Young Theatre School. Other stars that attended the establishment include Billie Piper, Danni Behr, Denise Van Outen, Emma Bunton and the Appleton sisters. (more)...
- 10/14/2009
- by By Alex Fletcher
- Digital Spy
Daniella Westbrook returned to EastEnders for the fourth time in September, making an immediate impact on Albert Square as the feisty Sam Mitchell. The soap star's troubled private life during her youth was lived out in the tabloid press, as she achieved notoriety for her turbulent relationship with Brian Harvey, her brief appearance on I'm A Celebrity... and her battles with cocaine addiction. Keep reading to find out ten facts that you probably didn't know about the Walthamstow actress. 1. Daniella was born in Walthamstow, East London on November 5, 1973. Her father Andy was a taxi driver and her mother Sue was a shop assistant. 2. Westbrook is one of the many celebrities to have come from the Sylvia Young Theatre School. Other stars that attended the establishment include Billie Piper, Danni Behr, Denise Van Outen, Emma Bunton and the Appleton sisters. (more)...
- 10/14/2009
- by By Alex Fletcher
- Digital Spy
Danniella Westbrook has admitted that she will miss EastEnders when she completes her latest stint at the end of the month. The 35-year-old actress will soon film her final scenes as Sam Mitchell on the Walford-based drama, though she will remain on screen until Christmas. Westbrook's surprise comeback was announced in April this year. She appeared back on screen last month, but within days producers confirmed that she was on a short contract and would bow out from the role once again. Speaking about her return in an interview with Digital Spy, Westbrook revealed: "To be honest, I've been over the moon with it. Although it's been a lot of work, it's been really, really good for me. Every time Sam's come back before, she hasn't had much to do, so it's been great that they've really thrown her in there. It's been fantastic." (more)...
- 10/8/2009
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
EastEnders star Danniella Westbrook has signed up for the next series of Dancing On Ice, a report claims. The 35-year-old actress has already started practising her skating skills in preparation for her new TV project, according to the Daily Star. A source told the newspaper: "She's training and is getting better each day. She is determined to do her best." Westbrook will bow out from her role as Walford's Sam Mitchell in December. Dancing On Ice traditionally runs from January to March each year. In a recent interview with Digital Spy, the star confirmed that she has (more)...
- 10/6/2009
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
EastEnders star Danniella Westbrook has insisted that she is no longer interested in a party girl lifestyle. The 35-year-old actress, who plays Sam Mitchell in the Walford soap, admitted that she prefers nights in with her husband and two daughters to nightclubs. "I'm not interested in clubs and, you know what, I'm old," Westbrook is quoted by Ireland Online as saying. "Who wants to see some 35-year-old strumpet standing at the bar?" Discussing her home life, she continued: "My (more)...
- 10/5/2009
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
EastEnders actor Sid Owen has joked that his character should start dating a man in a bid to resolve his current love triangle. Walford returnee Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook) and regular resident Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) are both currently convinced that they are the right partner for the actor's alter ego Ricky Butcher. Revealing what advice he would give to Ricky, Owen quipped: "Probably turn gay, it might be easier." Speaking to the EastEnders website, he continued: "[He should] (more)...
- 9/29/2009
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
EastEnders actress Danniella Westbrook is to bow out of the soap at the end of the year, Digital Spy can confirm. The 35-year-old, however, has not been 'axed' from the programme as a weekend tabloid newspaper suggests - she has simply fulfilled her original three-month contract which ties in with the close of her character's story. In April, it was announced that Westbrook - who plays Sam Mitchell in the BBC soap - was to return to the show after a nine-year absence. Last week, she made her screen comeback, much to the shock of her family. As she was still on the run from the police for perverting the course of justice, the Mitchells attempted to hide her in The Vic. However, Bianca (Patsy Palmer) informed the police of Sam's presence on the Square, which promptly resulted in her arrest. Sam's storyline reaches a dramatic climax at the end...
- 9/19/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
Coronation Street led in the soap ratings battle on Friday evening, early figures show. The ITV soap's double bill, which saw Peter and Simon go to Leanne in Leeds and Jason named Mr Gay Weatherfield, drew 7.65m (40%) and 7.87m (36.5%) at 7.30pm and 8.30pm. ITV2's repeat from midnight added 180k (3.3%) and 183k (4.6%). EastEnders' final edition of the week, during which Sam was arrested, put in 7.57m (36.7%) at 8pm. BBC Three's repeat added a further 536k (3.1%) at 10pm. BBC Three's behind-the-scenes look at Danniella Westbrook's return as the original Mitchell sister in EastEnders - The Return of Sam Mitchell was watched by 403k (2%) at 8.30pm. Emmerdale's (more)...
- 9/14/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
EastEnders actress Danniella Westbrook has credited co-star Steve McFadden for helping her through her soap comeback. The 35-year-old signed up to reprise her role as Walford's Sam Mitchell in April following a break from her TV career. Westbrook has now revealed that she adjusted quickly to life back on the show's set thanks to McFadden (Phil Mitchell), despite her initial concerns about returning to Albert Square. She told Pa: "I was very nervous because (more)...
- 9/9/2009
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
EastEnders actress Danniella Westbrook has credited co-star Steve McFadden for helping her through her soap comeback. The 35-year-old signed up to reprise her role as Walford's Sam Mitchell in April following a break from her TV career. Westbrook has now revealed that she adjusted quickly to life back on the show's set thanks to McFadden (Phil Mitchell), despite her initial concerns about returning to Albert Square. She told Pa: "I was very nervous because (more)...
- 9/9/2009
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
EastEnders star Danniella Westbrook has admitted that she hasn't seen any of Kim Medcalf's scenes as Sam Mitchell on the soap. The 35-year-old actress recently returned to the classic Walford role following a break from the spotlight, which saw her battling a drug problem before focusing on life as a stay-at-home mum. Prior to her comeback, Westbrook had last been seen in the part in 2000. Medcalf went on (more)...
- 9/9/2009
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
A woman has been plagued by nuisance calls from EastEnders fans after her phone number was seen in an episode of the soap. Monday night's instalment saw Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) receiving text messages from his ex Sam Mitchell (Danniella Westbrook). A close-up of his mobile phone in the scene then displayed other texts and a number belonging to real-life beautician Lisa Edwards, 38. Within moments, the mum-of-two was bombarded with messages from eagle-eyed viewers who asked: "Is that Sam from EastEnders?" According to The Sun, others asked for dates and sex. Edwards reportedly received 500 calls and hundreds (more)...
- 9/9/2009
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
Danniella Westbrook's return to EastEnders as Sam Mitchell was seen by an average of 7.6m on Friday evening, edging Coronation Street for the first time since the beginning of June. The Walford soap's final episode of the week drew 7.56m (35.7%) at 8pm, while BBC Three's repeat showing at 10pm added a further 571k (3.1%). Meanwhile, Coronation Street's double bill, during which Sally held a belated birthday party for Kevin and Claire banned herself and Ashley from having sex, was seen by 7.5m (37.7%) and 7.1m (31.8%). ITV2's repeats from 1am added 157k (4.6%) and 188k (7.1%) respectively. Michael's revelation to Debbie (more)...
- 9/7/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
Soap star Daniella Westbrook has insisted that her wild partying days are behind her. The EastEnders actress, who plays Sam Mitchell, claimed that she now prefers listening to Radio 4 to living a showbiz lifestyle. "I'm a bit of a geek who listens to Radio 4 and puts her kids' shoes in the Aga to keep them warm in winter - that sort of girl," she told the Daily Star. "I haven't come back for the celeb thing - there's no mileage in that. I'm just lucky it's come back round for me." Westbrook, 35, first appeared in EastEnders between 1990 and 2000. However, her time on the show was marred by continual drug revelations and press coverage of her private life. (more)...
- 9/1/2009
- by By Alex Fletcher
- Digital Spy
EastEnders' original Mitchell sister Sam - played by Danniella Westbrook - returns home to Walford next Friday, taking her family completely by surprise. Her brother Phil (Steve McFadden) recently sent her ex-husband Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) to Brazil to find her and much to Phil's surprise, Ricky returns to the Square with Sam in tow. Jay Brown's (Jamie Borthwick) immediately (more)...
- 8/28/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
Former EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman has revealed that she would love to finish off her character's storyline. The 39-year-old, who played cold-blooded murderer Chrissie Watts for a year-and-a-half, was written out of the BBC soap in December 2005 when she was left languishing in prison for killing her husband Den (Leslie Grantham). Due to the unavailability of Oberman and the other actors involved - Michelle Ryan (Zoe Slater) and Kim Medcalf (Sam Mitchell) - Den's murder trial was shelved and Chrissie was last seen returning to her cell after a visit from Jake Moon (Joel Beckett). With no resolve to Chrissie's story, Oberman hopes to one day discover what happened to her Walford counterpart. Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, she enthused: "I'd love to finish off Chrissie's storyline because I love (more)...
- 7/23/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
This is the first picture of Danniella Westbrook on the set of EastEnders since she returned to the soap last month as original Mitchell sister Sam. In April, it was announced that Westbrook was to reprise her role as Sam in the summer. As a suspect in Den Watts's (Leslie Grantham) murder trial, Sam was last seen fleeing the country to live in Brazil. However, she makes a comeback to the Square in September, much to the shock of her family and the locals. What has caused her to return to Walford? (more)...
- 7/9/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
Danniella Westbrook has insisted that she doesn't feel nervous about her return to EastEnders. The actress announced in April that she was reprising her role as Sam Mitchell on the BBC One soap. She will film her first scenes next week. Westbrook made her debut as Sam in 1990 and stayed in Walford for three years. She returned in 1995 and 2000 but was dropped from the programme on both occasions due to her drug addiction and other personal problems. Speaking to The Mirror, she explained: "The person I was when I last left was sick - it wasn't the person I was when I first joined in 1990 and I had several years of doing good work before I got ill. People remember the horrific times. (more)...
- 5/30/2009
- by By Daniel Kilkelly
- Digital Spy
EastEnders star Scott Maslen has suggested that his character Jack Branning could be the father of Heather Trott's (Cheryl Fergison) baby. Speaking to Digital Spy on the red carpet at the British Soap Awards, Maslen said of the prospect: "Yeah, I reckon [Jack's the daddy]. I think I'm sleep walking!" Rita Simons - who plays Roxy Mitchell - joked: "I think it was Albert...Oh no, I had his willy cut off..." Meanwhile, speaking about Danniella Westbrook's return as Sam Mitchell, Simons said: "[It'll be] brilliant, (more)...
- 5/12/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
EastEnders executive producer Diederick Santer has revealed more information about the return of Sam Mitchell to the show. Last month, it was announced that Danniella Westbook is to return to the BBC soap as original Mitchell sister Sam, as opposed to Kim Medcalf, the last actress to play her. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, Santer said of Sam's comeback: "What makes Sam interesting for me is that she's Ricky's first love and first wife. As Bianca and Ricky spend more time together and have more shared experiences around Tiffany and Whitney, the inevitability of them at some point coming together increases. What's stopping them? Well, it's Sam. "Sam and Ricky had a good thing going all those years ago. (more)...
- 5/1/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
Former EastEnders actress Michelle Ryan has described her stint with the BBC soap as a "great foundation" but reaffirmed that she has no plans to return. The 24-year-old, who played the role of Zoe Slater for five years, quit the Walford-based soap in 2005 'out of boredom'. It was recently reported that Ryan's screen mother Jessie Wallace (Kat Slater) is eyeing up a potential return to Albert Square, while earlier this week, producers announced that Danniella Westbrook is to make a shock comeback to the soap in the summer as Sam Mitchell. Patsy Palmer (Bianca Jackson), Sid Owen (Ricky Butcher) and Charlie Brooks (Janine Butcher) have also made returns to the programme over the last year. However, despite the influx of past characters returning to the show, Ryan is adamant that she won't make a comeback herself. Speaking (more)...
- 4/9/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
Former EastEnders actress Danniella Westbrook is to make a shock comeback to Albert Square as Sam Mitchell. Despite Kim Medcalf being the last actress to play the character, the 35-year-old is due to return to filming with the soap this summer. The Mitchell sibling was last seen escaping to Brazil pending the trial for Den Watts's murder. Speaking of her comeback, Westbrook said: "I'm really happy - it feels just like coming home. "I'm really looking forward to working with Barbara, Steve, Sid and Patsy and I'm over the moon to be working with the new boss Diederick Santer as he's done such great things in turning the show around. I can't wait to get the scripts to see what Sam has been up to since she was last in the Square." Executive producer Diederick Santer said: "With all the turmoil (more)...
- 4/7/2009
- by By Kris Green
- Digital Spy
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