Samatha Womack has opened up about her financial struggles after turning down acting work because of her treatment for breast cancer.
Womack, 52, who is best known for playing Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders from 2007 to 2017, underwent a year-and-a-half of treatment for Grade 3 invasive duct carcinoma, a fast-spreading type of cancer where the cancer cells look very different from normal breast cells, and tend to grow more quickly.
She announced her diagnosis in 2022 and told fans she was cancer free in December that year.
In a new interview with The Mirror, Womack explained that she was in a cycle of saying “no” to jobs, and that bank account was “creaking” as a result.
“After my year-and-a-half of treatment, I started turning down a lot of stuff – and I didn’t have the bank balance to match that confidence, trust me,” she said.
“But there was empowerment in that because I thought, ‘OK, I need to go through this, spend time with myself and figure out stuff that I’ve never figured out – maybe stuff I’ve buried under a rug.’”
Womack admitted she had “low self-esteem” when considering different roles, and she decided to opt for more gentle parts instead.
“Soaps pay very, very well, but the reality of being self-employed means that, yes, you get paid for the jobs you do, but for the six months of the year you don’t work, you don’t get paid,” she said. “I’ve never been a wealthy person. I’ve gone from job to job, always thinking, ‘Better say yes because no one’s going to want me if I don’t.’”
She continued: “I had very low self-esteem. Going back to work after my treatment felt very hard. I couldn’t quite step back into that neurotic, zany energy as easily. I was physically capable, but I wasn’t emotionally capable. I was picking things that felt gentle to me.”
One of those jobs was a guest role in the cosy crime series The Marlow Murder Club, which she said felt like a safe space and involved “a lovely bunch of women”.
Womack was diagnosed with breast cancer after seeking out a private check-up, driven by a gut feeling that she needed to be seen.
“I felt perfectly fine. There was no discolouration of skin, dimpling, irritation,” she said. “I knew the NHS calls people in at 50, but I just had this thought of, ‘I need to go and get checked before then.’ I was just on the cusp of catching it too late and the speed with which I had to process information was unbearable. I sometimes think, ‘What if I hadn’t gone to that appointment?’”
The actor is mother to Benjamin, 24, and Lili-Rose, 20, whom she shares with her ex-husband Mark Womack. Her current partner, Oliver Farnworth, 42, currently splits his time between Spain and the UK, where he plays John Sugden in the ITV soap Emmerdale.
Womack explained that her husband’s filming schedule, which means he comes home for two or three days at a time before leaving again, has worked well for her.
“That’s been quite good for me, having some space on my own. It’s been rare in my life that I’ve been confident enough to do that, so it’s been helpful.”
Womack added that her experience has changed her outlook on life, saying: “I feel so much more enlightened. I know myself better, I feel humbler, I feel calmer.”
Before starting her acting career in the Nineties, Womack represented the UK at Eurovision in 1991 under her maiden name, Samantha Janus, and has gone on to have screen roles in the Kingsman film series and Sky’s comedy series Mount Pleasant.
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