Danniella Westbrook has credited EastEnders for 'saving her life' as she revealed how joining the BBC soap gave her the chance to escape sexual abuse.
The actress, who is best known for playing Sam Mitchell in the serial drama, first opened up about her childhood ordeal back in 2013.
Speaking in the first episode of Girl Talk, a new YouTube show hosted by best-selling author and celebrity agent Melanie Blake this week, Danniella explained how being cast in the long-running soap at the age of 16 gave her a lifeline.
“Going in to work at the BBC saved my life, because the abuse stopped, which was great," Danniella admitted.
“I know a lot of people that I went to school with that were abused alongside me that ended up on drugs and in prostitution in brothels, because they weren’t as lucky as me to get into a good job in a stable institution like the BBC and have proper management."
Danniella also revealed that after her experiences the BBC had since introduced new safeguarding measures to help young actors cope with the pressures of fame.
She explained: “They put a peer system in place last time I was back and Jake Wood (Max Branning) was my peer. They really did try to look after every cast member. They learnt a lot from me being there.”
Danniella arrived in Walford in 1990 to play Phil and Grant Mitchell’s feisty younger sister Sam. She left after three years to take another role.
She was invited back two years later, but was axed in 1996 after bosses tired of her poor attendance and unreliability. She later admitted to blowing £100,000 on cocaine over a two-year period.
In 1996 they decided to give her another chance, but in 2000 she was axed a second time.
Speaking on YouTube show Girl Talk, Danniella said she accepts that EastEnders was right to fire her.
“I deserved my sackings, because I was a liability to that programme. I was a terrible cocaine addict when I was young and I did abuse the platform I was on. I just couldn’t be trusted,” she admitted.
“It wasn’t a decision that they really had to sit down and make. It was a necessity, I had to go. In my early days I was using all the time.
“And if they had kept me I probably wouldn’t be here today. I 100% think that. Because I’d have just been getting money, turning up and making it ok for me to use.”
Danniella, now 47, recently made the decision to relocate from Essex to Wales in order to focus on her mental health.
To see the first episode of Girl Talk on YouTube go to: GIRL TALK with Melanie Blake | Three SOAP ICONS discuss her Sunday Times Best Seller RUTHLESS WOMEN
To order a copy of Ruthless Women go to: https://amzn.to/3cK6uQq
