Danniella Westbrook On EastEnders’ Sam Mitchell Recast: ‘It Was A Blessing’

Former EastEnders cast member Danniella Westbrook talked about BBC’s decision to recast Sam Mitchell, describing it as a blessing.

Danniella portrayed the character Sam Mitchelle in EastEnders on and off between 1990 and 2000. She left Albert Square in 1993 for other projects and returned for several periods for the rest of the 1990s, deferred by her drug addiction. When the show brought the character back to life in 2002, they chose Kim Medcalf until 2005.

The actress, now aged 47, openly discussed her experience with Soap From The Box podcast, saying she had her daughter a few months before the recasting and she had gone into recovery that same year.

She shared the telephone conversation she had with the casting director and head of continuing drama prior to the recasting. She recalled telling them she just can’t do it, to which they replied: “We were dreading making the phone call. We’re not offering you it, because you’ve been so ill the last few times you’ve come back.”

They told the actress her safety comes first: “We do want to look after your safety first. How do you feel about it?”

Westbrook responded: “Do you know what? You’ve just taken the decision out of my hands and I feel I can put that to bed.”

She told them then if anything ever comes around someday, “I hope we can all sit down and have dinner and have a lovely time about it, and look at the lovely memories.”

That decision helped her look after herself and put her recovery first. “It was a blessing.”

EastEnders Spoilers – One relapse Away From death

Danniella’s struggle with cocaine has hit the headlines for 25 years. As the soap star was becoming known for her acting career, her personal issues were open to the public as well.

The star started using the drug when she was 14 in nightclubs. Her cocaine usage became frequent, which leads to her being tardy to work. In 1996, she was sacked from EastEnders due to her behavior.

When her addiction became out of hand, she had to take five grams of cocaine a day even when she was pregnant. The star is believed to have spent £250,000 on the drug.

Daniella confessed in 2019 that she had another relapse, but no more recovery, and so she was one relapse away from dying.

While the actress has been through a lot, her fans and the EastEnders bosses have rooted for her. She was able to return to the soap in 2009, 2010, and in 2016 with her brief return for Peggy Mitchell’s funeral episodes.

While Danniella paid tribute to Kim for doing a fantastic job, she said: “But Diederick wanted it to be me, and once I proved to be well enough for long enough, I came back. I was allowed to remold Sam and bring her back.”

“All respect to the powers that be at the BBC for letting me go away for 14 years and get well,” Daniella added.

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