EASTENDERS star Samantha Womack has quit the show over its heavily-criticised cot death storyline.
Sam, 38, was horrified by heartbreaking scenes in the BBC1 soap where her character Ronnie Branning lost her baby James - then swapped him for Kat Moon's newborn lad Tommy.
Samantha decided to quit EastEnders after viewing its shock cot death storyline "as a mother first and an actress second", it emerged last night.
Sam, 38, was horrified by heartbreaking scenes in the BBC1 soap where her character Ronnie Branning lost her baby James - then swapped him for Kat Moon's newborn lad Tommy.
Samantha decided to quit EastEnders after viewing its shock cot death storyline "as a mother first and an actress second", it emerged last night.
Samantha, who has two children, gave producers a handwritten letter of resignation last November when she first received the script for the harrowing New Year's Eve episode.
A fellow cast member said show chiefs offered more money and uplifting plots to persuade her to stay on as Ronnie Branning.
But the star - famed as Samantha Janus before her 2009 marriage to actor Mark Womack - said she would stick to her principles and will leave the BBC1 soap in May.
Channel bosses have been bombarded with nearly 3,500 complaints this week over the scenes, in which Ronnie lost her baby James.
A fellow cast member said show chiefs offered more money and uplifting plots to persuade her to stay on as Ronnie Branning.
But the star - famed as Samantha Janus before her 2009 marriage to actor Mark Womack - said she would stick to her principles and will leave the BBC1 soap in May.
Channel bosses have been bombarded with nearly 3,500 complaints this week over the scenes, in which Ronnie lost her baby James.
Viewers were upset by the use of a deeply sensitive issue for entertainment - and further outraged by a twist in the plot that saw Ronnie take Kat Moon's baby and replace it in the cot with her dead child.
Many felt that was "twisting the knife even more".
Sam, 38, brought filming to a halt during the scenes as she was so upset.
A source said: "The last couple of months at work have been awful for Sam. The first time she read the script, she thought it was wrong and pushed boundaries too far. It was such a sensitive issue, she knew it would cause a huge backlash. She wrote a letter on the day she read it and made it clear to bosses she thought it was wrong. They persuaded her to stay and film the scenes, but she will leave in May.
Many felt that was "twisting the knife even more".
Sam, 38, brought filming to a halt during the scenes as she was so upset.
A source said: "The last couple of months at work have been awful for Sam. The first time she read the script, she thought it was wrong and pushed boundaries too far. It was such a sensitive issue, she knew it would cause a huge backlash. She wrote a letter on the day she read it and made it clear to bosses she thought it was wrong. They persuaded her to stay and film the scenes, but she will leave in May.
"It was draining for her filming the scenes and incredibly difficult emotionally.
"All she could think about was the reaction of parents, especially mothers, who had lost children to cot death. She saw the story as a mother first and an actress second, which made her realise things had gone too far."
Sam, nominated for Best Actress at the 2009 Soap Awards, is mum to children Benjamin, nine, and Lily-Rose, five - and stepmum to Mark's eldest son from another relationship.
Last night The Sun received more messages from furious parents who suffered cot deaths.
But EastEnders boss Bryan Kirkwood said: "We appreciate this is a challenging storyline and have taken care to ensure viewers were aware of the content before transmission."
Viewing figures for Monday's show, which saw Kat and hubby Alfie identify "their" dead baby, hit 10.6million.
"All she could think about was the reaction of parents, especially mothers, who had lost children to cot death. She saw the story as a mother first and an actress second, which made her realise things had gone too far."
Sam, nominated for Best Actress at the 2009 Soap Awards, is mum to children Benjamin, nine, and Lily-Rose, five - and stepmum to Mark's eldest son from another relationship.
Last night The Sun received more messages from furious parents who suffered cot deaths.
But EastEnders boss Bryan Kirkwood said: "We appreciate this is a challenging storyline and have taken care to ensure viewers were aware of the content before transmission."
Viewing figures for Monday's show, which saw Kat and hubby Alfie identify "their" dead baby, hit 10.6million.
Source: The Sun
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