Samantha Womack has had plenty to celebrate recently. Not only has the actress marked her 50th birthday with friends and family, she's also received the greatest gift possible entering a new decade cancer-free.
In August, Samantha announced that she had breast cancer. It came in the wake of Olivia Newton-John's passing - the Grease legend having battled with the disease for 30 years.
The former EastEnders star speaks to us on her milestone birthday after enjoying a few celebratory days at The Lakes By Yoo resort in the Cotswolds with her partner and ex-Coronation Street star Oliver Farnworth. She tells us she feels in a good place and explains she has found an even greater appreciation for life.
Samantha has an hour before she takes to the stage. The previous day she was in the Cotswolds with Oliver for our shoot, but she looks fresh-faced and far from tired. It's quite remarkable for someone who has gone through gruelling surgery and chemotherapy, and as we sit down to chat she tells us she's been given the best gift of all - she is now free from cancer.
"I just feel really thankful and really grateful that I caught it when I did," she says. "I feel very thankful for my life. I know that sounds crazy, but it's almost like I can see the beauty in everything now like everything feels special. I keep bursting into tears, because I'm happy.
"I think it [going through cancer] shifts your perspective and suddenly everything feels really important and really vital and you suddenly just appreciate everything."
Samantha's diagnosis came out of the blue. She hadn't suffered any obvious symptoms or found a lump. It was only during a "random check" that doctors alerted her to a shadow on her right breast.
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