EE: Sam Mitchell (Daniella Westbrook)

[SpursFan1902]

I was just trying to provide her with options, but you guys are right...just get RID of her!! BTW - Well said, Aja.

[Kezza]

If the Sam character returns again, I truly hope it will be Kim Metcalf. Just because Westbrook was the "original" character certainly does NOT make her the best actress for the role, IMO.

[eefanincan]

[SpursFan1902]

And off she goes, in the back of a black cab. Here's hoping that if they decide to bring Sam back that it is Kim Metcalf....or anyone else really!! I am glad to see the back of her..

[eefanincan]

Amen to that! I haven't watched this episode yet, but something to look forward to, for sure!

[faceless]

[Skylace]

It looks so much better.

[SpursFan1902]

It looks better than the blonde, but still not good. It actually looks grey. She should have picked a better base color is she wanted to do hi-lites.

[SpursFan1902]

Wow, she actually is lower than I thought.....Merry effin' Christmas to the Mitchells!

[faceless]

haha yeah, that was a Christmas Cracker for sure.

[faceless]

DANIELLA WESTBROOK on her crazy drug past, pole dancing ...and the joy of Essex
Rachael Bletchly
people.co.uk
24th January 2010

Danniella Westbrook winces as she leans across the table to reach the tartare sauce for her scampi. The Dancing On Ice star has taken a nasty fall while rehearsing her latest routine for the hit ITV show and torn several muscles in her back and side.

Skating partner Matt Gonzalez throws her an anxious glance as they tuck into their hearty lunch but Danniella just adjusts the hefty ice pack hidden beneath her hoodie and assures him she's absolutely fine to perform in three days. "And even if I'm not it won't make any difference," she mumbles cheerily through a gob full of chips. "I'll just have a couple of paracetamol, keep smiling and skate through it. No one will notice."

Such bravado would be surprising in any other 36-year-old mum of two with just nine weeks' experience of camel spins, toe loops and hip lifts. But Danniella isn't worried about falling down and taking a few knocks - and her fearlessness on the ice is testament to the fact that she's been through far more terrifying challenges.

Exactly 10 years ago the EastEnders actress was well and truly on the skids - battling a £400-a-day cocaine addiction that had burned a gaping hole in her nose and made her Britain's most infamous druggie. The pretty blonde Essex girl had become a household name at 16 when she won the EastEnders role of Sam Mitchell. But her hopeless addiction soon took over her life, turning it into the soap opera from hell with a plot not even the sickest scriptwriter could come up with... the overdose, the psychosis, a miscarriage, a string of failed relationships, four suicide bids, debt, shoplifting, a family who disowned her, an horrific car crash that smashed her face and almost claimed her sight and the shocking admission that she'd snorted coke while pregnant and was high as she gave birth to her son.

Little wonder that "drug-ravaged Danniella" became the poster girl for a Government anti-drugs campaign - her gaunt face with its single gaping nostril warning youngsters of the ugly consequences of cocaine. But a decade on that same face is now glowing with health and well-justified pride at nine drug-free years, a blissfully happy marriage to millionaire businessman Kevin Jenkins and a return to TV in EastEnders and Dancing On Ice.

"I'm fitter and happier than I've ever been in my life," smiles Danniella. "I know I'm bloody lucky to be alive and I wake up every day thinking 'Thank God I'm here and in one piece'. "If I'm struggling in training Matt sometimes stops me and says 'Remember how far you've come in such a short time. Nine weeks ago you could barely stand up on the ice on your own'. And I suppose that's like my life has been in the past decade. I was on my arse but now I'm back on my feet and showing people what I'm made of.

"I've been so lucky and had an amazing nine months. Returning to EastEnders was incredible. It's a dream job. It was also great to get 'closure' because last time I worked there I was ill and let people down. Now I've been clean for nine years and so I could go back and do a good job. I grew up on EastEnders and lots of the old crew are there and I wanted to do them proud.

"But to go straight on to Dancing On Ice has been fantastic. It's completely different from anything I've ever done before because it's a competitive sport - not sitting around on your bum for three weeks in the Big Brother house or in the jungle for I'm a Celebrity. We train two hours a day, Tuesday to Saturday. Everyone's had bumps and bruises but it's just fantastic and so much fun."

Danniella impressed the judges with her first performance on the show two weeks ago and can't wait to get out on the rink again tonight - injury or not.

"Matt has put so much time and effort and patience into getting me to skate and getting me confident," she says. "I don't mind falling, it's the fear of not being in control that I don't like, but I'm getting better. I'm not a sporty person but my husband is. He trains twice a day and he's really fit. Kevin's good at everything so it's really nice that this is one thing he can't actually beat me at. He says 'I'm so proud of you for doing this - I can't believe you're doing so well'."

Danniella clearly craves the approval of her friends and family - the loved ones she let down during her long battle with drugs. She's thrilled that so many of them turn up to support her for the show - particularly her younger brother Jay and his wife, both Metropolitan Police officers.

"He's got the whole of the Met rooting for me," she beams. "And the other day he wrote on his Facebook page 'I don't often say it but I'm really proud of my sister'. Isn't that great? "We'll be dancing a slow routine this week to the Kelly Clarkson hit Because Of You. There's a lot more skating, it's more technical, the lifts are much harder. I've been a bit nervous but Kev and Matt are so encouraging."

Los Angeles-based skater Matt has formed such a close bond with Danniella and Kevin that he's moved in to their luxury home in Essex alongside Kevin's daughter Jordan, 15, Danniella's son Kai, 14, and their daughter Jodie, eight. He's also getting on famously with the actress's pet chihuahua Lola and dobermann Rodney. But it also means he can nag Danniella to do even more training in her home gym although she tends not to practise her new passion - pole dancing - when he and Kev are doing weights. It's a bit distracting.

"It's great fun though," says Danniella. "Some of the mums from school started doing classes with me and so I got a pole for the gym. It's a great full-body workout. I'm heavier than I've been in ages - eight stone - but I've got really toned and I've lost three inches off my waist with skating. I have so much more energy. I can feel my body changing shape - it's so rewarding. It's fabulous to find a sport you really enjoy doing. I'll definitely carry on skating."

It's hard to imagine the malnourished 6st wretch who didn't have the strength to sit in the bath at the height of her addiction. And, although you can't help staring at her famously re-constructed nose, her face is fresher and brighter than you'd expect if you listen to the cruel critics.

But Danniella just shrugs: "Water off a duck's back. I'm 36 and after what I've put my body through I'm never going to win any beauty contests. I'm proud that I've grown up at last - finally faced up to my responsibilities. And that's all thanks to Kevin. I've got a great husband who is my best friend and I would be nothing without him. I can be really high-maintenance at times but he is always supportive. He's so straight. He's great at business, he's great with the kids. He's just a good guy.

"To be honest, I think that's what I've always been searching for. All the time I was being crazy I was just looking for some stability. Then I found Kevin. Now I've got everything I've ever wanted since I was a child. I'm really lucky."

In 2006 Danniella charted her incredible life story in a best-selling autobiography The Other Side of Nowhere. She said: "I wrote the book to widen people's knowledge of addiction. I thought if I could help one parent whose child has an addiction to understand their illness, or help one drug addict to feel like they weren't the only person in the world struggling with it, then it was worth it. I received a lot of letters from people who said it had helped and that was better for me than anything else."

After several failed attempts at rehab Danniella finally got clean with the help of controversial celebrity therapist Beechy Colclough and a spell in the tough Cottonwood clinic in Arizona. She knows it's a luxury many addicts can't afford and dreams of being able to start her own charity to help them. She said: "Beechy is still my therapist and I owe him so much. I came through it because I was ready to and because of support from him and my husband.

"Kevin just kept on trying, no matter how bad I was, and he never gave up on me. I'll never forget the help I got but I'll never forget the people who shut the door too."

Danniella has recently become a supporter of the Essex-based cervical cancer charity Jo's Trust which Jade Goody campaigned for in the months before she died aged 27 last year. Danniella's mum Sue beat cervical cancer and the actress is determined her own daughters will know the risks. She said: "Girls need to know about smear tests and the dangers of cervical cancer. Just look at poor Jade. She was so young."

So what does the future hold after Dancing On Ice? Danniella says: "I might update the book and then I might just stay at home and be a wife and mum again. And I'd love another baby. If it happens, it happens - but I'm probably more likely to get another chihuahua!"

[SpursFan1902]

"Now I've been clean for nine years and so I could go back and do a good job."

Wow, if what we saw was her "good job", she better keep her skates sharp!

[SpursFan1902]

Why??? Why??? Why did they have to bring her back??? I HATE Daniella Westbrook. She is a horrific actress. At least her hair looks a little better although if that is what they are using for her real hair color since she has been in prison and not able to color it, I am laughing. I hate the scenes with her and have to really restrain myself and not fast forward over them. AARRGGGHHH!!!

[Skylace]

I was cringing yesterday when she was on. She is absolutely horrific. Sea urchins have better acting skills then she does!

[SpursFan1902]

And better hair!