Samantha Womack says it's still 'too hard' to watch EastEnders two years after leaving
She played Ronnie Mitchell
Author: Emma DoddsPublished 16th Aug 2019 Last updated 16th Aug 2019
Former EastEnders actress Samantha Womack is still raw about leaving the soap two years after leaving her role as Ronnie Mitchell. The 46-year-old, who starred as the hugely popular character on the soap for almost 10 years, appeared in an interview Lorraine earlier today to discuss her stage role in The Girl On The Train.
But, of course, it wasn't long before the talk turned towards her iconic role as Ronnie - for which she won many different soap awards - and how she feels about the brutal axing two years on.
Unsurprisingly, it still stings for Sam, who was booted off the soap with her on-screen sister Rita Simons AKA Roxy Mitchell in a devastating death which saw the pair drown in a swimming pool on the day of Ronnie's wedding to Jack Branning on New Year's Day 2017.
She told Christine Bleakley, "I can’t watch EastEnders. It’s too familiar, I know the sets and know everyone. It’s hard, it’s too hard."
Swipe through to see all the EastEnders spoilers you need to know for next week...
The week begins with Mel Owen receiving a worrying phone call about Hunter. She decides to turn to Gray Atkins for advice when she finds out her son is being moved to another prison.
Samantha Womack says it's still 'too hard' to watch EastEnders two years after leaving
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Kathy and Jean Slater support Tiffany Butcher on results day - she opens her GCSE results but will she be happy with her grades?
The week begins with Mel Owen receiving a worrying phone call about Hunter. She decides to turn to Gray Atkins for advice when she finds out her son is being moved to another prison.
Later on, she's devastated when Gray reveals there's nothing he can do about Hunter's case. Gray has a change of heart and manages to pull some strings so that Mel can asks the prison to check on her son.
When she arrives home, Mel gets the shock of her life when she sees that the police are waiting for her with news - Hunter has escaped prison.
Mel demands to know how her son has managed to escape prison and insists they hurry up and find in as soon as possible.
The police warn Mel to work with them but she decides to make a call to get legal advice – what is she up to?
Meanwhile Ben Mitchell throws a surprise party when Phil is finally discharged from hospital. Phil is less than impressed with the event and as soon as everyone leaves, he questions Ben about his argument with Jay in the hospital…
Ben worries that his dad is on to him and rushes to warn Jay but he gets there too late. When Phil arrives he asks Jay exactly what happened.
Later, Shirley Carter visits Phil at The Arches and he confesses he's remembered something… Over at the Slater family home, Kat is alarmed to find Phil waiting in the kitchen.
After Phil asks Keegan Baker whether he's heard from Keanu Taylor, Bailey Baker tries her best to support her older brother.
Meanwhile Jean Slater sneakily tries to get information from Shirley to see how much Phil remembers about the attack.
Callum helps Ben with a new lead as he continues to try and find his pregnant sister Louise Mitchell.
Phil continues to try and figure out what happened on the night of his attack and as he grows closer to the truth, those involved fear the worse.
It's not long before Phil confronts Kat and Ben – but will he discover the truth? Or will they manage to avoid saying what really happened.
Elsewhere, Max and Ruby Allen make plans but she's left annoyed when he brings baby Abi along.
When Max drops his granddaughter back to Rainie Branning, he spots Bobby Beale sitting alone in the Square and offers him some support.
Rainie manages to get the house to herself and invites Stuart over but she leaves Max furious when she lies about her plans for the day to stop him from seeing Abi.
The pair come to blows over their arrangement and it's not long before Ian and Kathy Beale get involved, with a huge argument kicking off.
An annoyed Bobby snaps and reminds them that Abi's best interest should be put first. Following Bobby's outburst, they all manage to come to an agreement.
Following all the drama, Stuart reveals his concerns about Rainie taking her painkillers but she assures him she'll stop…
Sonia Fowler and Callum begin to discuss plans for the wedding but the groom is left reeling when Stuart make it clear that he thinks he's going to be best man.
Callum struggles to break the news to his brother but when Stuart begins to bombard him with plans for the stag do, he opens up and is completely honest about his decision.
Elsewhere Gray tells his wife Chantelle Atkins that he's bagged a place on a course to become a solicitor advocate.
Over to the Baker/Taylor family and Mitch and Karen struggle to cheer up Bailey on the day of the inquest into Dinah's death.
Mitch is desperate to do something special for Bailey and ends up pouring his heart out to his eldest daughter. Chantelle then agrees to help pay for a telescope for Bailey.
Kathy and Jean Slater support Tiffany Butcher on results day - she opens her GCSE results but will she be happy with her grades?
The week begins with Mel Owen receiving a worrying phone call about Hunter. She decides to turn to Gray Atkins for advice when she finds out her son is being moved to another prison.
Later on, she's devastated when Gray reveals there's nothing he can do about Hunter's case. Gray has a change of heart and manages to pull some strings so that Mel can asks the prison to check on her son.
When she arrives home, Mel gets the shock of her life when she sees that the police are waiting for her with news - Hunter has escaped prison.
Mel demands to know how her son has managed to escape prison and insists they hurry up and find in as soon as possible.
The police warn Mel to work with them but she decides to make a call to get legal advice – what is she up to?
Meanwhile Ben Mitchell throws a surprise party when Phil is finally discharged from hospital. Phil is less than impressed with the event and as soon as everyone leaves, he questions Ben about his argument with Jay in the hospital…
Ben worries that his dad is on to him and rushes to warn Jay but he gets there too late. When Phil arrives he asks Jay exactly what happened.
Later, Shirley Carter visits Phil at The Arches and he confesses he's remembered something… Over at the Slater family home, Kat is alarmed to find Phil waiting in the kitchen.
After Phil asks Keegan Baker whether he's heard from Keanu Taylor, Bailey Baker tries her best to support her older brother.
Meanwhile Jean Slater sneakily tries to get information from Shirley to see how much Phil remembers about the attack.
Callum helps Ben with a new lead as he continues to try and find his pregnant sister Louise Mitchell.
Phil continues to try and figure out what happened on the night of his attack and as he grows closer to the truth, those involved fear the worse.
It's not long before Phil confronts Kat and Ben – but will he discover the truth? Or will they manage to avoid saying what really happened.
Elsewhere, Max and Ruby Allen make plans but she's left annoyed when he brings baby Abi along.
When Max drops his granddaughter back to Rainie Branning, he spots Bobby Beale sitting alone in the Square and offers him some support.
Rainie manages to get the house to herself and invites Stuart over but she leaves Max furious when she lies about her plans for the day to stop him from seeing Abi.
The pair come to blows over their arrangement and it's not long before Ian and Kathy Beale get involved, with a huge argument kicking off.
An annoyed Bobby snaps and reminds them that Abi's best interest should be put first. Following Bobby's outburst, they all manage to come to an agreement.
Following all the drama, Stuart reveals his concerns about Rainie taking her painkillers but she assures him she'll stop…
Sonia Fowler and Callum begin to discuss plans for the wedding but the groom is left reeling when Stuart make it clear that he thinks he's going to be best man.
Callum struggles to break the news to his brother but when Stuart begins to bombard him with plans for the stag do, he opens up and is completely honest about his decision.
Elsewhere Gray tells his wife Chantelle Atkins that he's bagged a place on a course to become a solicitor advocate.
Over to the Baker/Taylor family and Mitch and Karen struggle to cheer up Bailey on the day of the inquest into Dinah's death.
Mitch is desperate to do something special for Bailey and ends up pouring his heart out to his eldest daughter. Chantelle then agrees to help pay for a telescope for Bailey.
Kathy and Jean Slater support Tiffany Butcher on results day - she opens her GCSE results but will she be happy with her grades?
But she did shower praise on her former co-stars, revealing just how hard it is to be a soap actor, "It's one of the hardest jobs I've ever done and I've done lots - I've done comedy, dramas, films musicals, but soap is... There's nowhere to hide with soap.
"You very rarely get more than three or four takes at it, so you really need to know your stuff. Whenever I look at those really good performances in soap, I take my hat off because I know how hard it is to get them within those circumstances."
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