Former EastEnders actress Samantha Womack, speaking from her home nestled in the Valencia mountains of Spain, alongside her rescue dogs, has shared a positive update on her life after undergoing intensive treatment for breast cancer. The 52 year old was diagnosed in August 2022 but has found a silver lining through the ordeal, revealing that it’s led to an enhanced perspective on life.

“I feel so much more enlightened,” says the actress who hails from Brighton. “I know myself better, I feel humbler, I feel calmer.”

Post-treatment, Samantha has made significant alterations to her routine, notably taking a step back from her relentless workload – quite a shift for someone whose career catapulted following representation at Eurovision in 1991, followed by acting roles starting with Pie In The Sky and Game On in the mid-90s.

“After my year-and-a-half of treatment, I started turning down a lot of stuff – and I didn’t have the bank balance to match that confidence, trust me,” she confesses, having declared herself cancer-free in December 2022. “It was me saying the word ‘no’ and my bank account creaking. But there was empowerment in that because I thought, ‘OK, I need to go through this, spend time with myself and figure out stuff that I’ve never figured out – maybe stuff I’ve buried under a rug.’”

Samantha Womack

Daily Mirror Daily Express Daily Star – National Lottery Good Causes Interview with actress Samantha Womack. 3.5.2023. Picture by Tim Merry
Samantha, a breast cancer survivor, believes strongly that women’s health, particularly breast wellness, should be given higher precedence. With no apparent symptoms, she decided to undergo a private check-up, trusting her instincts that urged her to seek medical attention, reports the Mirror.

“I felt perfectly fine. There was no discolouration of skin, dimpling, irritation,” Samantha recounted her state before the diagnosis. She added, “I knew the NHS calls people in at 50, but I just had this thought of, ‘I need to go and get checked before then.’ I was just on the cusp of catching it too late and the speed with which I had to process information was unbearable. I sometimes think, ‘What if I hadn’t gone to that appointment?’”.

Her proactiveness turned out to be life-saving; Samantha was diagnosed with a grade 3 invasive duct carcinoma, a rapidly advancing form of cancer requiring immediate treatment involving surgery and ongoing therapies.

Raised by a GP stepfather, Samantha immersed herself in breast health research. One alarming fact she uncovered was that breast density levels can significantly affect mammogram result accuracy – denser breasts with more fibroglandular tissue not only increase the risk of cancer but also make it difficult for mammograms to spot tumours.

Samantha Womack

The actress, mother to Benjamin, 24, and Lili-Rose, 20, from her previous marriage to Mark Womack, emphasised the importance of women prioritising their health. “We all live in busy worlds and tend to put these little niggles to one side,” she remarked.

“I’m an avid lover of the NHS, but if something is worrying you and you have the money to go and get yourself checked, why would you not? I did and it changed my life. Now, I want to empower women to take control of their bodies.”

Samantha acknowledges her fortunate position yet notes that her current financial situation differs greatly from when she portrayed Ronnie Mitchell on EastEnders between 2007-2017. “Soaps pay very, very well, but the reality of being self-employed means that, yes, you get paid for the jobs you do, but for the six months of the year you don’t work, you don’t get paid,” she explained.

“I’ve never been a wealthy person. I’ve gone from job to job, always thinking, ‘Better say yes because no one’s going to want me if I don’t.’ I had very low self-esteem. Going back to work after my treatment felt very hard. I couldn’t quite step back into that neurotic, zany energy as easily. I was physically capable, but I wasn’t emotionally capable. I was picking things that felt gentle to me.”

She found solace in a guest appearance on the cosy crime series The Marlow Murder Club, which she described as involving a “lovely bunch of women” and providing a “felt like a safe space”.

“Now it’s about things I feel I can emotionally connect to, without having to lose myself too much,” she reflects. “I’m not ready to go into a gold lamé dress and boogie about on stage.”

Samantha has also experienced a shift in her personal life, spending more time by herself as her partner, actor Oliver Farnworth, 42, divides his time between Spain and the UK, appearing as John Sugden on Emmerdale.

Powered by

She finds their arrangement suits her well. “He comes back for two or three days at a time, but is filming a lot at the moment. That’s been quite good for me, having some space on my own. It’s been rare in my life that I’ve been confident enough to do that, so it’s been helpful.”

Last year, Samantha alluded to the possibility of her and Oliver exploring parenthood. “We’ve talked about adopting, because after the cancer treatment I wouldn’t be able to conceive naturally and because of my age,” she reveals.

“But I think I’m learning to put things in perspective and hopefully, in the next 10 years, one of my kids will produce a sproglet and I can go from maternal to gra-ternal!”.

READ NEXT:

‘I went to popular Spanish island and couldn’t wait to fly home’
The huge 3,000-home new Nottinghamshire housing estate where the tram line could be extended to
I visited ‘idyllic’ seaside town with free parking where people stay for days
Three Nottinghamshire roundabouts are causing misery for drivers
Theme park in UK seaside town closes 2 days a week over £1m energy bill
Story Saved

You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.