When Samantha Womack left EastEnders two years ago – at the climax of the cot death and baby swap storyline which saw her character Ronnie Branning imprisoned – it was under something of a cloud given that Samantha had found the plotline “stressful and emotional.”

Poor Samantha was even harangued in the street while out with her husband and children by fans who evidently can’t tell the difference between reality and fantasy, and all in all, after quitting the show to star in a musical, Samantha said she had no regrets about leaving the BBC soap.

However, it’s been revealed today that Samantha is in fact coming back to the show to reprise her role as Ronnie, who, as viewers will know, has recently been freed from prison. Read more & comment »

It’s been reported today that former EastEnders star Samantha Womack has joined the cast of Sky Living comedy, Mount Pleasant, and will feature in the show’s third series.

Samantha, who of course played the role of Ronnie Branning on EastEnders, told Click Liverpool that she’s about to start filming for the show, which stars former Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay as well as Daniel Ryan, Bobby Ball and Angela Griffin.

She said, “I begin filming Mount Pleasant for TV alongside Pauline Collins [Sue] in Manchester soon.” Read more & comment »

Actress Samantha Womack is possibly best known for playing the role of Ronnie Branning in EastEnders, however she left the show under something of a cloud in 2011 following the controversy caused by the baby swap and cot death storyline…

And while speaking to Femalefirst, Samantha – who went on to star in musical South Pacific in the role of Nellie Forbush – has revealed that for the last couple of years, she’s been suffering with “crippling” anxiety attacks.

She explained, “I certainly have more anxiety about live theatre because if you don’t get it right, you can’t go back. I really battle with it a lot more.

“It started around two years ago – it comes and goes. It’s a really strange thing… Read more & comment »

Former EastEnders star Samantha Womack – who of course played the role of tormented Ronnie Branning – has revealed that when she agreed to take part in a new series of BBC1’s Who Do You Think You Are? she had no idea that she would unearth tragic family secrets.

Sam also explained that she decided to discover her family’s history following her father’s suicide three years ago, and as we’ll see when the show returns next week, her grief for him is still very raw, and Sam often breaks down during the episode.

But among some of the biggest shocks for her were in discovering that her great-great-grandmother was forced to abandon a daughter to a “squalid children’s home” and that her great grandfather had a criminal past.

During the show, an emotional Sam says, “My own past has been very fractured… Read more & comment »

As fans of EastEnders will of course remember, Sam Womack left the show and her role as Ronnie Branning last year after the conclusion of the controversial cot death and baby swap plotline.

After leaving the show, Sam took to the stage in hit musical South Pacific, and in a recent interview with OK! magazine, it was this role that prompted BGT and X Factor guru Simon Cowell to offer Sam a seat on the Britain’s Got Talent judging bench.

Sam said of Simon’s offer, I thought about doing it, because you’d be crazy not to. Simon Cowell flew me out to his mansion in Los Angeles.

“I was already committed to South Pacific, and I kind of knew that, but to be honest, I wanted to see what Simon and his house were like!”

And of Simon, Sam said, “He was bloody charming! I’d never been to LA before, and I spent a good few hours in his amazing house, just chatting… Read more & comment »

As fans of EastEnders will know, Samantha Womack left the show, and her role as Ronnie Branning, last year…

“And now that she’s had time away to reflect on the ruckus that the baby-swap storyline created, she’s told the Daily Mirror that she thinks the storyline was “implausible.”

Thousands of viewers complained about the storyline, which of course saw Ronnie ‘replacing’ her dead baby James with Kat Moon’s (Jessie Wallace) live baby Tommy.

The plotline drew to an earlier than planned close when Ronnie confessed and handed the baby back to his mother. In the show, Ronnie is now in prison for her emotionally charged acts.

Sam, who’s currently starring in the musical South Pacific in Southampton, said, “I thought it was implausible. Most women who lose a child would not go out and abduct one… Read more & comment »

Samantha Womack has admitted that she found it hard working on the recent Eastenders baby swap storyline.

The actress played Ronnie Branning in the BBC One soap and it was her character that stole a neighbours infant and replaced him with the lifeless body of her own child.

However, after the storyline prompted over 9,000 complaints, she decided to leave the show and speaking to Stylist magazine, she admitted that it was a very ‘exhausting’ time in her life.

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It was arguably one of the most controversial storyline’s that soap land has ever seen and the complaints commission OFCOM had its work cut out sorting through them, but after 7 months the regulating body have cleared Eastenders over the baby swap storyline!

It was the most talked about topic at the time, and the moment that Ronnie Branning (Samantha Womak) swapped her lifeless tot James for Kat Moon’s (Jessie Wallace) healthy baby Tommy, saw OFCOM receive in excess of 24,000 complaints from the viewing public.

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Samantha Womack didn’t allow herself much relaxation time after she left Eastenders!

The 38 year old actress – best known as Walford’s Ronnie Branning – has only left the cast of the BBC soap and already she’s throwing herself into another part. This time the mum of two is taking on a role in the West End adaptation of hit musical ‘South Pacific.’

Sam is currently embroiled in rehearsals for the show, which will be opening at the Barbican in London on August 15.

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Writing in her new! magazine column, Coronation Street star Kym Marsh has wondered why EastEnders star Samantha Womack wasn’t nominated in the category of Best Actress during the British Soap Awards.

The gong was won by Sam’s co-star Jessie Wallace for her portrayal of Kat Moon, but Kym – who plays Michelle Connor – was surprised that Samantha’s role as Ronnie Branning wasn’t recognised.

Kym also commented on the speculation that it was the stress of the cot death and baby swap storyline that prompted Samantha to leave the show.

She wrote, “I can relate to that, although they’re the sort of plots I love, it is hard going.

“It must be especially hard for Sam as she’s had one harrowing storyline after another.” Read more & comment »

Samantha Womack has hinted that there’s a chance her EastEnders character Ronnie Branning could return to the show at some point in the future.

As fans will know, Ronnie’s in court next week over abducting baby Tommy Moon, and rumour has it that she’ll walk free after Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) has a change of heart and tells the courtroom that she’s forgiven Ronnie.

However, irrespective of the outcome of the case, Samantha has – for now at least – left the show as she’s filmed her final scenes.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror however, she intimated that there’s always a chance she’ll return.

Read the interview in full after the jump… Read more & comment »

EastEnders actress Samantha Womack has told Hello! magazine that she won’t let her young son and daughter watch her final scenes as Ronnie Branning on the show.

Her reason being that when she allowed her son to watch the scenes in which Ronnie’s grieving for her dead daughter Danielle, he got upset and cried.

But before Sam talked about that, she explained how hard it’s been to play out the cot death and baby-swap storyline… Read more & comment »

Samantha Womack has explained her decision to leave Eastenders.

The 38 year old actress is best known as Ronnie Branning (nee Mitchell) on the BBC soap but her character’s journey has been a dramatic one. In the last two years alone Ronnie has faced off an abusive father, seen two of her children die and the love of her life, Jack Branning shot and almost killed.

All this emotional turmoil has had a big affect on Sam and she told The Sun, that after crying and screaming in work every day for the past two years, she just had to get out.

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It’s been revealed that as part of the climax to the cot death and baby-swap storyline in EastEnders, Kat Moon will tell Ronnie Branning that she forgives her for taking her son Tommy.

The News of the World report that when Ronnie’s case comes to trial, Kat (Jessie Wallace) will initially be determined to see justice done for the agony that Ronnie (Samantha Womack) put her through by abducting baby Tommy…

However, it seems at the eleventh hour, as the judge prepares to issue Ronnie with her sentence, Kat relents and shouts, “I forgive you!”.

A show insider told the paper, “Kat felt Ronnie had destroyed her life and even with Tommy back things would never be the same again… Read more & comment »

Scott Maslen has admitted that he doesn’t want Samantha Womack to leave Eastenders and says that when she goes, he will miss her “dreadfully.”

Scott and Sam act opposite each other on the BBC soap and are best known as married couple Jack and Ronnie Branning. However he has admitted that it won’t be the same on set when the 38-year-old actress leaves later this year to appear in new musical ‘South Pacific’.

However, as much as he will miss her, Scott has confessed that the time is right for Samantha – who has two children, 10-year-old Ben and Lily, six, with her husband Mark Womack – to take a break, especially after the attention their controversial baby swap storyline attracted.
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