EastEnders: Danniella Westbrook To Return For Peggy Mitchell’s Funeral?

After months of speculation it was confirmed yesterday that Ross Kemp was returning to EastEnders after almost a decade to reprise his much-loved role of Grant Mitchell.

Grant will be reuniting onscreen with his brother, Phil, ex Sharon, and Phil’s ex-wife, Kathy, alongside matriarch Peggy Mitchell, who is dying of cancer.

Now it is being reported that producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins wants Danniella Westbrook to also return to the BBC soap as Sam Mitchell, so that the family can be together one last time before Peggy’s tragic death.

Danniella is currently taking part in Celebrity Big Brother after shooting to fame when she joined EastEnders back in 1990, quitting in 1993 following trouble in her personal life.

She returned later in the 90s but her contract was eventually terminated when Danniella battled a public addiction to cocaine.

Danniella went on to reprise the role on and off over the years, most recently appearing in 2010, with the character also being played by Kim Medcalf between 2002 and 2005.

An insider explained to The Mirror: “Now the news is out about Barbara and Ross’ return writers can start to plot the finer details but nothing has been decided yet.

“Although we can confirm that Frieda the greyhound will not be returning.”

A spokesperson for the show added: “Peggy’s final episodes are still being finalised so it is too early to say if any other characters from the Mitchell family will be returning.

“We have definitely not ruled out anyone at this stage.”

When previously speaking about returning to Albert Square, Danniella said: “We’ve spoken about it a bit. I love being Sam Mitchell, it’s so much fun and so easy for me to do. I love EastEnders, but really I’d like to be in Emmerdale.

“I love the show – it’s a bit more drama-ish in the way they run the storylines. I like the area where they shoot it and I’m a very outdoor person!”