‘I really battle with anxiety a lot. It started about two years ago - it comes and goes,' she said.
‘It's a really strange thing. It's not based on any one specific thing, but I think it's more to do with when you get older, you consider everything much more.’
'what I do now is let people know that's the state I'm in rather than pretend I'm not'
The star, who is best known as Ronnie Mitchell in Eastenders, admitted that she has been suffering from a crippling panic disorder for the past two years, starting after her father was found hanged in 2009.
'Some days I can cope with it and other days I find it quite difficult,' adds Samantha, 40.
'But what I do now is let people know that's the state I'm in rather than pretend I'm not.'
Samantha, who has two children, Ben and Lily-Rose, and a step son, Michael, also added that she finds it hard to juggle her career and motherhood.
‘It's very hard... Lily wants to be around Mummy a lot, which is great, so she comes to rehearsals. Mark's mum is a teacher so she brings books over for Lily and tutors her.’
‘We don't have a nanny, we try and juggle it.’ She continues.
Currently starring in a play called Hope, the star insists that she would welcome an opportunity to return to Albert Square, declaring, ‘Of course I would’, and admits that she really misses her co-stars.
‘I love them. I miss them all so much. I see Scott Maslen [Jack Branning] the most.’
‘We’ve known each other since we were teenagers.’
‘I also speak to Rita Simons [Roxy Mitchell] every couple of days. She’s like my sister – I adore her.’
Samantha revealed that she chose to leave EastEnders after realising she was overworking herself.
‘I worked out I’d been crying or screaming at work every day for six days a week for over two years. Can you imagine how exhausting and tiring that is?’
The stress in turn took its toll on not only her but her character too: ‘Ronnie wasn’t in a place where she could continue back then. She’d had too much grief.’
‘I needed to stop and find some peace, a bit like Ronnie.’
Her role on the popular soap appeared to have more of a downward effect on her physical and mental health than she had first anticipated too.
‘You’re crying, weeping and telling your brain something awful has happened, so of course that is going to affect you and your body. My brain may know I am acting, but my body was doing a different thing.’