’EastEnders’ bosses have denied Danniella Westbrook’s claims she is set to return to the soap.
The actress made an appearance on Thursday’s (11 May) ‘Loose Women’ where she admitted there was a high possibility of her reprising her role as Sam Mitchell in the coming months.
“There’s a lot of chance of me going back to ‘EastEnders’ at the moment,” she said.
“I love ‘EastEnders’, I just really wish we could film it in Marbella [where she lives]. I’ll probably be back there the end of this year.”
However, after HuffPost UK contacted an ‘EastEnders’ spokesperson for comment, they insisted there was no truth to the story.
“There are no plans for Danniella to return,” they said in a statement.
Danniella has attacked the soap on numerous occasions since her last appearance last year for her on-screen mother Peggy’s funeral, most recently claiming bosses had used her for publicity.
She first played the character on and off from 1990 until 2000, but amid her battle with drug addiction, the role of Sam was recast in 2002, with Kim Medcalf taking over until her departure in 2005.
When bosses decided to reintroduce the character in 2009, they opted to bring back Danniella, who remained on the show until 2010.
During her interview on ‘Loose Women’, Danniella also opened up about her recent stint in rehab, revealing she recently came off all her medication for her mental health issues.
Speaking to presenters Ruth Langsford, Linda Robson, Jane Moore and Nadia Sawalha, she said she was now happy and healthy having endured bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia.
“I was sick of being sick and walking around like a medicine bottle, taking tablets for this, taking tablets for that so I’ve come off every bit of medication that I’m on,” she said.
“I’ve been on medication for bipolar since 2001 and I think a lot of it can be done holistically and with therapy.
“I weaned myself off them and brought myself down slowly with medical advice in a rehab centre in Spain.”
To the shock of the panel, she also revealed her plan to open a bar in Spain, with Jane Moore questioning if that was the right thing for her to be doing.
Responding to her suggestion it was like “someone on a diet opening a cake shop”, Danniella said: “I’m better on the other side of the bar. I’m a people person and I’m known for nightlife, I’ve got loads of DJing gigs this year. I can’t just stop my life because I’m an addict.”
‘Loose Women’ airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.
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