Popularly known for playing the role of Sam Mitchell on EastEnders, Daniella Westbrook is a well-known English actress who has been working in the industry ever since she was just a teen.
Brought up in Essex, Daniella has been a part of various other shows throughout her career, such as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Dancing On Ice. Westbrook is also known for being a part of Celebrity Big Brother for its 17th season. Despite having a successful career in television, Daniella fell victim to the dark side of the career and got herself involved in drug use.
Westbrook has been vocal about her addiction and was even sent to rehab quite a few times. In recent years, Daniella has tried to stay away from the limelight and focus on her family, but her life seems to have an affinity to disasters and unwanted attention as she still keeps making headlines. This time, it was Westbrook’s botched surgery that left a gaping hole in her skull.
Daniella Westbrook: About The BBC Actress
Born on 5th November 1973, Daniella first had an interest in Horse riding but was picked up to play the role of Sam Mitchell in EastEnders when she was just 16.
After 1993, the actress decided to leave the show to pursue other better roles, but the producers of EastEnders requested her to get back on the show in 1995. A year later, Westbrook had to be written out of the storyline as her cocaine addiction started to affect her performance.
This happened again in 1999 after producers decided to give her another chance, only for Daniella to completely damage her nasal septum from drug overuse. Eventually, Kim Medcalf was cast in her stead, and Sam Mitchell was reintroduced in the storyline. Danielle did make a few appearances again in EastEnders in 2016.
Since she knew a thing or two about surgery after having breast augmentation surgery, Daniella proceeded to be a co-presenter on Cosmetic Surgery Live. Other shows that Daniella has been a part of include Most Haunted, Loose Women, This Morning, and many others.
What Happened To Daniella Westbrook?
Westbrook used to be a regular at London clubs, and that’s where she first started to experiment with cocaine. After her fame in EastEnders, teenage Daniella started to indulge more in drug use, often being forced into it by people around her.
Daniella revealed that she had been using cocaine since the age of 14 and thought everything was cool and glamorous, which she later realized was not true at all.
The EastEnders actress claims to have spent more than £250,000 on cocaine and drugs and has even used it throughout her pregnancy. In the year 2000, photographs of her revealed that her septum had eroded, which is a side effect of cocaine overuse.
While she was still neck-deep in cocaine influence, she was invited to the show The Priory, where she was interviewed by Jamie Theakston and Zöe Ball.
The interview was very awkward as Westbrook was obviously under the influence, but this helped her realize just how much it was affecting her career. She tried to stop doing drugs for a while and was even sent to rehab by Jeremy Kyle in 2019.
Daniella underwent reconstructive surgery for her nose in Turkey, only for it to fail terribly and leave a coin-sized hole in her head.
This surgery involved using 200 threads to pull her nose into shape, but the stitches came open, and the surgery turned out to be very unsuccessful.
Asides from this, Daniella had also undergone an improper dental treatment previously, which caused her to develop septicemia in her gums which eventually spread to her cheekbones. This led to erosion of her cheekbones, and she had to use one of her floating ribs to replace the eroded bone.
She is now taking care of her children and has revealed that she had been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and Schizophrenia. Westbrook has also expressed her concerns over the damage media does to a person’s image.
After the botched surgery in Turkey, Westbrook hopes to get back to her original face by getting treatment from an expert in Liverpool.
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