Joshua Halm
Published February 16, 2026 7:55pm
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Sam’s received her results (Picture: BBC/Jack Barns/Kieron McCarron)
Sam Mitchell’s (Kim Medcalf) return to EastEnders was unlike any of her others.
Usually, the Mitchell Princess has returned home after getting in over her head as a result of some dodgy scheme. While big brothers Phil and Grant (Steve McFadden and Ross Kemp) have a habit of causing chaos, Sam’s brand of carnage tends to be the messiest in the family.
This time was different, though. Sam returned not in a blaze of blow-dried glory, the Sam that came home looked utterly defeated. Having found a lump in her breast and resigned to the fact that the cancer would claim her life like it did her mum, Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor).
As she saw it, she didn’t possess a fraction of the strength her mighty mother did, so what was the point of fighting the inevitable?
Clearing Phil’s safe of cash in order to provide a nest-egg for her son, Ricky Branning (Frankie Day), Sam took her son out for food where she opened up about the guilt she felt for being such an unreliable mum. Gripped with fear, sadness and regret, she poured forth her desire to give him a ‘leg up’ in life as Ricky sat, shaken by her demeanour.
Sam began to face the reality of the situation and vowed to fight (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Ricky’s dad, Jack (Scott Maslen), interrupted them, and Sam fled, but Ricky’s unease about how she was acting encouraged him to chase her. As she tried to escape, almost as quickly as she arrived, Jack found her first and, withering under the heat of his verbal beatdown, blurted out about her lump.
After her admission, both Jack and Denise Fox (Diane Parish) set about trying to convince her to seek medical assistance, while Phil took her in. Sam resisted all offers to help and tried to scam Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), though the support of Phil, who promised to stand by his sister throughout the entire journey saw her finally make a doctors appointment.
Following a biopsy, she received a formal breast cancer diagnosis and a lumpectomy was booked in. When she received a date for the operation, Sam was hit with a fresh wave of terror and her behaviour worried Ricky further, who Sam had left completely in the dark regarding her situation. Convinced that she was planning to abandon him again, Ricky lashed out at his mum.
When George Knight (Colin Salmon) found her alone on a bench, contemplating the confirmation letter, Sam opened up about her fears, while he implored her to be open and honest with her son and allow him to support her.
Ricky vowed to support his mum… (Picture: BBC/Jack Barns/Kieron McCarron)
…and was by her side as she recovered from her operation (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Ricky, displaying an enormous amount of maturity and strength vowed to stand by his mum, and as she continued to feel comfortable exposing her vulnerability, they became even closer.
In the weeks following her lumpectomy, Sam has waited patiently for the results of the operation and to find out if the cancer had spread.
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Emerging today as support for Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) by watching her former frenemy, Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman) and making sure she remained in the Vic while Kat hunted down Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness).
Chrissie, dripping with vitriol, as ever, decided to pass the time by poking at Sam, mocking her for reading a fairytale book that Peggy used to read to her. Sam was stoic as she took Chrissie’s prodding, before revealing that she’d had a letter from the hospital. The results were in and she’s cancer-free.
Sam shared a warm moment with her former frenemy (Picture: BBC)
Uncharacteristically, Chrissie’s ice began to melt as she expressed sincere joy for Sam’s news, comparing her to the Princess from the book, having achieved a happy ending.
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Sam took the opportunity to point out to Chrissie that if she shed her uber-bitch veneer, she too could be truly happy. Chrissie considered for a moment before reaching out for Sam’s hand. She paused again, unsure, before finally grabbing it in a moment of solidarity. It was a powerful moment between two of our favourite Walford femme fatales before we lose them again.
With Sam facing a course of radiotherapy in Spain, was her last move on Albert Square bringing some light to Chrissie’s dark heart? Judging by how she verbally eviscerated Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) moments later, probably not, but it’s the thought that counts.
For all her faults, Sam proved that she does possess the same fighting spirit that her mum embodied. She took on breast cancer.
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And she won.
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