Eastenders' Samantha Womack reveals own breast diagnosis as she pays tribute to Olivia Newton-John

Eastenders and West End star Samantha Womack has revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The 49 year-old actress revealed the news as she paid tribute to Olivia Newton-John, who died from breast cancer on Tuesday.

Womack played Newton-John's character Sandy in the West End version of Grease.

The former soap star uploaded a picture of herself with Olivia Newton-John taken during production of the play, saying: "This was the most magical of evenings. Olivia and Chloe had come to see Grease in London and we had dinner together afterwards.

"I was so excited and in awe, she was my childhood. I now start my own battle with this disease and am left feeling deeply moved."

Samantha Womack represented the UK in the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest and also played Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders.

She decided to share the news after Newton-John became a prominent breast cancer campaigner herself, after being given the first of three cancer diagnoses in 1992.

Following her initial battle with the disease, she had a partial mastectomy and reconstruction.

She remained cancer-free until a recurrence in 2013, but revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer for the third time in three decades in September 2018.

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