Sam Mitchell (EastEnders)

Sam Mitchell
EastEnders character
Kim Medcalf as Sam Mitchell (2022)
Portrayed by	Danniella Westbrook (1990–2000, 2009–2016) Kim Medcalf (2002–2005, 2022–2024) Laila Murphy (2022, flashback)[1]
Duration	1990–1993, 1995–1996, 1999–2000, 2002–2005, 2009–2010, 2016, 2022–2024
First appearance	Episode 569 19 July 1990 (1990-07-19)
Last appearance	Episode 6841 18 January 2024 (2024-01-18)
Classification	Former; regular
Introduced by	Michael Ferguson (1990) Corinne Hollingworth (1995) Matthew Robinson (1999) John Yorke (2002) Diederick Santer (2009) Bryan Kirkwood (2010) Dominic Treadwell-Collins (2016) Kate Oates (2022)
Spin-off appearances	Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do (2003) Marsden's Video Diaries (2010) EastEnders E20 (2010)
Danniella Westbrook as Sam Mitchell (2016)
In-universe information Other names Samantha Mitchell Sam Butcher Sam Hunter Occupation Barmaid Lapdancer Businesswoman Bar manager Family Mitchell Father Eric Mitchell Mother Peggy Mitchell Brothers Phil Mitchell Grant Mitchell Husband Ricky Butcher (1991–1996) Andy Hunter (2004–2005) Sons Ricky Branning Granddaughters Charli Slater Uncles Archie Mitchell Clive Mitchell Aunts Sal Martin Nephews Ben Mitchell Mark Fowler Raymond Dawkins Albie Watts Nieces Courtney Mitchell Louise Mitchell First cousins Ronnie Mitchell Roxy Mitchell Lenny Martin Loretta Martin Other relatives Billy Mitchell Jamie Mitchell Danielle Jones Amy Mitchell Lola Pearce Lexi Pearce Matthew Mitchell Cotton Will Mitchell Janet Mitchell Stevie Mitchell Charlie Mitchell

Sam Mitchell (also Butcher and Hunter) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The third member of the Mitchell family to appear on the soap, Sam was introduced as a 15-year-old schoolgirl in July 1990, originally played by Danniella Westbrook. Westbrook quit in 1993, but Sam reappeared from 1995 to 1996 and from 1999 to 2000. In both stints, Sam was written out earlier than the producers intended due to off-screen controversies surrounding Westbrook. In January 2002, Sam was introduced for a fourth time, but the role was recast to Kim Medcalf, who stayed in the role until November 2005. Diederick Santer later decided to reintroduce Sam for a brief stint in 2009 and opted to bring Westbrook back. Westbrook briefly reprised the role once again in 2016 for the funeral of Sam's mother Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor). In January 2022, it was announced that Sam would be returning to the show, this time played by Medcalf again. Medcalf’s return scenes aired on 18 April 2022. Medcalf took an extended break from the show in 2023, with Sam departing on 13 April 2023 and returning seven months later on 21 November 2023. On 18 January 2024, Sam made an unannounced departure from the show following Medcalf's decision to leave indefinitely.

At first Sam was initially portrayed as a young naïve girl who had often been relied upon less by her mother Peggy in contrast to Sam's two older brothers Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant (Ross Kemp) on frequent occasions. However, as time went on, Sam gradually evolved into becoming a more charismatic and headstrong woman with a penchant for dating the wrong men and a determination to be taken more seriously.

Her storylines involved an elopement with established character Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen); a competitive love triangle with Ricky and his second wife Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer); an on-off quarrel with sister-in-law Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean); having sex with various antagonists such as Phil's archenemy Steve Owen (Martin Kemp) and wife-beater Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns); feuding with the rival Watts family that involves Sam sleeping with Sharon's half-brother Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman) and later getting conned by their illegitimate father Den Watts (Leslie Grantham); getting seduced in a relationship with crime boss Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs) and later marrying him; being betrayed by family lawyer Marcus Christie (Stephen Churchett) when he collaborates with Den's plan to bankrupt the Mitchell Empire; a platonic friendship with Phil's friend Minty Peterson (Cliff Parisi); a lengthy feud with Den's widow Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman) that culminates in the latter framing Sam for Den's murder; an affair with local club owner Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) that leads to the birth of their son Ricky Branning (Henri Charles/Frankie Day); becoming a suspect in the murder of her uncle Archie (Larry Lamb); feuds with Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and Denise Fox (Diane Parish); scheming with Phil's rival Jonah Tyler (Mark Mooney) in taking over the family assets assets; discovering that her son Ricky is becoming a father at twelve years old; and publicly revealing Phil’s one-night stand with Lola Pearce’s (Danielle Harold) mother, Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit), which leads to her departure from the show.