Ex EastEnders actress Samantha Womack reveals she has cancer following the death of Olivia Newton-John

EastEnders star Samantha Womack has revealed that she has been diagnosed with  breast cancer as she pays tribute to Grease actress Dame Olivia Newton-John, who passed away on August 8 2022.

In a post on Twitter, the 49 year-old wrote: “This was the most magical of evenings. Olivia and Chloe had come to see Grease in London and we had dinner together afterwards. I was so excited and in awe, she was my childhood. I now start my own battle with this disease and am left feeling deeply moved. #OliviaNewtonJohn,” along with a photo of her with her daughter and the Grease star.

Samantha Womack played Newton-John’s famous Grease character Sandy in a West End production of the classic hit musical from 1978, where the photo was taken.

Womack is best known for playing Ronnie Mitchell in the BBC soap show EastEnders, a role she played for ten years between 2007 and 2017.

She has also appeared in Australian soap Neighbours, which just aired its final episode, and made an appearance in the Hollywood hit film Kingsman: The Secret Service alongside Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson.

Outside of acting she also represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1991 finishing in 10th place with “A Message to Your Heart”.

Support has been pouring in since the actress revealed she is starting her battle with breast cancer.

Her EastEnders co-star Rita Simons replied to her tweet saying: “Love you forever my sis”, and Emmerdale script writer Sharon Marshall writing: “Wishing you love and strength”.