She is best known for her role as Ronnie Mitchell on EastEnders.
But Samantha Womack surprised soap fans by revealing one of her earlier career moves – when she represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest.
The actress, 50, competed in the wacky music event in Rome when she was just 18 with her song A Message For Your Heart, finishing in joint 10th place with 47 points.
And Samantha reflected on her stint on Eurovision during an appearance on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain, having travelled to Liverpool to appear at a welcome event for this year’s competition.
She told Ed Balls and Susanna Reid that when she failed to win the contest she was ‘devastated’ because she thought her career was over.
Blast from the past! Samantha Womack surprised soap fans by revealing one of her earlier career moves – when she represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest
Blast from the past! The actress, 50, competed in the wacky music event in Rome when she was just 18 with her song A Message For Your Heart, finishing in joint 10th place with 47 points
Sharing her Eurovision memories, Samantha said: ‘It really was amazing. I was in Liverpool yesterday and actually, it was just wonderful.
‘I was terrified – I didn’t know anybody would remember but the fans organised this amazing pre-cursor to Eurovision and I went on stage and they knew all the words and there were all these amazing faces.
‘I think I was 18 or 19, it was terrifying as the average was like 55 million viewers. So they tell you that before you go on stage.
‘It was a bit like reclaiming the beauty of it without the pressure. Liverpool is on fire at the moment, it’s so exciting, the whole city is alive and pulsating at the moment.’
After appearing on Eurovision, Samantha’s song went onto reach number 30 in the UK Charts, with that year’s contest eventually won by Sweden with Fångad av en stormvind.
During her GMB appearance, Samantha was grilled on her former EastEnders co-star Rita Simons’ recent return to the soap, despite being killed off in 2017.
The two actresses, who played Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell both met a tragic end on New Year’s Day when they drowned in a swimming pool, leaving viewers furious.
Susanna asked: ‘Last week Rita Simons, your EastEnders sister, said there could possibly be a comeback on the Square. What do you say?’
Interview: And Samantha reflected on her stint on Eurovision during an appearance on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain
Gutted: She told Ed Balls and Susanna Reid that when she failed to win the contest she was ‘devastated’ as she thought her career was over
Still going strong! After appearing on Eurovision, Samantha’s song went onto reach number 30 in the UK Charts, with that year’s contest eventually won by Sweden
Reminiscing: Sharing her Eurovision memories, Samantha said: ‘It really was amazing. I was in Liverpool yesterday and actually, it was just wonderful’
Questions: During her GMB appearance, Samantha was grilled on her former EastEnders co-star Rita Simons’ recent return to the soap, despite being killed off in 2017
How is she back? Rita returned from the dead as iconic character Roxy Mitchell during Thursday’s episode as a figment of her daughter Amy’s imagination
But the actress appeared to dampen any prospect of a return to the soap, replying: ‘I love her positivity, we were seen at the end of the episode floating lifelessly in the pool but I love her positivity and I am watching it.
‘I am in Spain at the moment but my VPN wasn’t working – so I want to catch up and watch it. I’m sure it was amazing.’
The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest kicked off this week and the first semi-final on Tuesday saw Ireland, Malta, Latvia, the Netherlands and Azerbaijan crash out of the competition.
On Tuesday night, 15 countries performed at the M&S Bank arena in part one of two semi-finals for the chance to win a place in Saturday’s grand final.
Ten acts made it through with Finland favourite Kaarija and Sweden’s former winner Loreen – who was victorious in 2012 with her hit Euphoria – securing their places.
The ten acts who made it through were; Croatia, Moldova, Switzerland, Finland, Czechia, Israel, Sweden, Serbia, Portugal and Norway.
Overall, 31 countries will compete in two semi-finals with 10 from each going through to the Grand Final.
Last year’s winner Ukraine automatically progressed to the Grand Final, along with the big five, comprising the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Mae Muller is the UK’s entry for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which is being hosted in the UK on behalf of war-torn Ukraine, with her track I Wrote A Song.
The Eurovision Grand Final will take place on May 13 and will be hosted by Alesha Dixon, Graham Norton, Hannah Waddingham and Julia Sanina.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
