EastEnders star Samantha Womack opens up about her biggest regret following her father’s suicide

The actress spoke candidly during an interview with John Bishop

During her time on EastEnders, Samantha Womack’s character Ronnie Mitchell had her fair share of difficult times, and the actress is now opening up about her personal struggles off screen.

The 44-year-old left the show last year in some of the most emotional scenes that the soap has ever seen, but when it comes to her private life Samantha has kept to herself.

However, in an interview with John Bishop for his show, In Conversation With, she has detailed one of the most traumatic experiences of her life – losing her father.

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Samantha’s dad, Noel Janus, took his own life eight years ago. Talking to the presenter about his death, she said: “You can’t ever come to terms with a suicide.

“You don’t know if there was anything that you could have done to prevent it. My father left three messages on my phone after my wedding to say ‘Call me,’ and I didn’t because he’d behaved badly at my wedding.”

Recalling the event, she continued: “He was drunk. The demons had already taken hold. I remember seeing him and thinking, ‘Something’s not right.’ I avoided him because I was frightened.

“If he’d had a drink, occasionally he’d have this kind of look that wasn’t like him. He was this soft, gently guy, but there was something… anger inside.”

Going on to talk about the last time she spoke to her father, Samantha revealed that she has regrets.

“He’d behaved badly and it was my wedding and as much as I understood that he was in a dark place, I was hurt.

“And so for the first time I went, ‘No, I’m gonna draw a line here until he calls be sober or changes his behaviour.’ And I paid the ultimate price.

“You’ll always blame yourself. But it’s been long enough now where I can look at his picture and I can smile now. So now I have a sense of peace with him, that’s taken me a while to get to.”

The full interview, John Bishop: In Conversation with Samantha Womack, will air on Thursday 2nd November at 9pm.

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