BBC confirms Kim Medcalf to reprise role as EastEnders’ Sam Mitchell

Westbrook is out as Medcalf reprises the role…

The BBC has lured Kim Medcalf back to reprise the role sixteen years after she last stepped into Sam’s shoes.

“When the BBC approached me last year to reprise the role of Sam I was thrilled. She’s a brilliant character and I can’t wait to get back in the Square this spring and work with the amazing cast of both familiar and new faces.” – Kim Medcalf

Viewers can expect to see Sam back on their screens in the spring, as her brother Phil (Steve McFadden) faces a lengthy stint in prison.

Phil’s reign of dodgy deals and criminal activities recently caught up with him but the police have tabled a deal for him to ‘turn grass’ in return for his freedom. This week Phil heard the voices of brother Grant (Ross Kemp) and mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor) in sound clips as he contemplated his future.

Sam, however, is set to have a more substantial input into the storyline as she returns to Walford in the flesh ‘to take what she sees as her rightful place in the Mitchell empire.’

Danniella Westbrook originated the role of Sam Mitchell between 1990-1993 before returning “full-time” in 1995 and 1999, both stints lasted less than a year due to the actress’s drug use. She later returned to the role for guest spells in 2009, 2010 and 2016.

When bosses chose to bring the character of Sam back full-time in 2002, they opted to recast the role to Kim Medcalf, who played Sam for three years until 2005.

Sam’s storylines under Danniella include a teenage elopement with Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen), a love triangle with Ricky and Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer), and a whodunit over her baby’s paternity after she cheated on Ricky with Jack Branning (Scott Maslen).

Kim’s time in the role saw Sam feud with the Watts family after taking control of the Mitchell empire, marry gangster Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs) who was after her money, and witness Den Watts’ (Leslie Grantham) murder at the hands of his wife Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman), later digging up his body to expose what Chrissie had done to the police.

The character headed to Portugal with her son Richard, who was proven by DNA test to be the son of Jack, following a spell behind bars for covering up the murder of Den – a storyline that bridged across both Medcalf and Westbrook’s performances in the role. The character’s last appearance to date, in 2016, was for the funeral of mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor.)

The recasting of a character then recast back to the original performer to then once more be replaced by the replacement is seemingly rare in UK soap, in fact with little to suggest otherwise it is possibly the first time to have happened.

“The Mitchells are one of the most iconic families in soap, and I have long wanted to bring Sam back into the family fold. With Phil potentially facing a long spell inside, Sam arrives back in Walford ready to take what she sees as her rightful place in the Mitchell empire. But with strong grudges against Kat, Sharon, Jack and Denise, to name but a few, her return is guaranteed to be explosive…” – Kate Oates, Head of Continuing Drama at BBC Studios