I have a sneaking suspicion that SOC might want to focus on Phil's immediate family again, and by getting rid of Ronnie and Roxy there might be space for Phil's sister again as the older female Mitchell, hopefully played by Kim Medcalf or re-cast.

ETA: I feel like once the regret of killing of the only other 2 main Mitchell females sets in, there may be a desire by SOC or even a future producer to bring back Sam.

As long as it's Kim playing her then fine.

The last few times with Daniella have been a train wreck!

Well I did wonder of SOC was planning on bringing back Sam (under Kim) fulltime, just due to the wasteful pointless deaths of Ronnie/Roxy I had hoped there would be some reason behind it in connection with rebuilding the Mitchell's.

Daniella is definitely not coming back. She's in a bad place (again) and she turned up late on her last stint on the show. And there's just no comparison with her Sam and Kim's 'Sam', god only knows why Daniella got brought back in the first place.

I wouldn't want to see Sam back at all. Although if she was coming back, I think we'd need a complete re-cast and for the character to be written somewhere between "Daniella's Sam" and "Kim's Sam".

I think TPTB at EE are looking to recapture that early Mitchell magic with the "next" generation; they've been positioning Jay and Ben as the new Phil and Grant for a while now, and then you've got Lou in Sam's role of younger sister.

Ben's emotional over-reactions and dangerous temper are reminiscent of young Grant, while Jay plays Phil's more calculating reasonable role.

Probably because that is what Barbara Windsor wanted.

Can't see this happening just now what with Danniella STILL having personal dramas and I don't think Kim would come back after being replaced by the original actress

I've said on here many times that to me Danniella IS Sam and I'd love her to come back full time but I can't see SOC taking a chance on her just now

Totally disagree- she was once Sam, yes, but ever since she re-took the role it's never been the same.

I rather see Courtney, we have Louise as well, the next generation Mitchell women.

Why R&R was there, there wasn't any need for her, I wouldn't like to see Daniella back in the role, her last appearance wasn't anything to be desired, if they was to bring her back I'd rather it be Kim Metcalf, but can't see that happening.

i got the feeling they wanted to reduce the family down, the mitchell family have dominated storylines for years so i think its more likely they introduce or add to another family.

No version of Sam should ever set foot in the square again.

She was only interesting when young and would be a pointless addition as a middle aged woman. They have younger members of the family they can use now (Louise or Courtney).

I liked Kim Sam and would be happy to see her again. I wouldn't put anything past SOC, I think he's unpredictable, that's what makes him interesting.

Least we had all the Mitchell's and Sharon on screen together in 2016!

We had

Phil
Grant
Peggy
Sam
Ronnie
Roxy
Billy

Was nice, even though Grant never got to share scenes with Ronnie and Roxy!

I don't know, really. There was a bit of a character assassination of Sam in her recent stint. She only came to the funeral and we never even saw her say a proper goodbye to her mum. In recent years it seemed that Peggy was closer to Ronnie than Sam, which is strange because Sam is her daughter, and Peggy hardly had anything to do with RnR until '07.

Actually, I feel like there's possibly more potential for a Lisa Fowler return. Phil treated her appallingly. He psychologically abused her. I'd like to see Phil show some humanity and actually change for the better this year, and a Lisa return which forces him to confront his demons could be interesting.

Tbf Danniella wasn't too bad in her most recent EE stint.

I really wish Tiffany wasn't killed off so she could've been brought back. Like Ronnie and Roxy, she was another Mitchell woman (by marriage though) who should've been spared. Courtney seemed so much like Tiff and they'd have made a great mother-daughter pair.

No Kim = no way. I would like a Courtney return however.

I'd sooner they concentrated on development of new characters than bringing old ones back all the time.

Sam has been well and truly ruined by Danniella, even if Kim were to return I feel it would be ridiculous given how much more mature and sensible Kim's Sam is.

Although I've said I'd like Danniella back as Sam I just don't think a return for Sam is what SOC has in mind.

Why kill off two Mitchell women to bring another Mitchell woman back? It doesn't make sense. Im hoping long term there's going to be a consequence of killing off Roxy and Ronnie so that there was a reason for it storyline wise, but I can't see a Sam Mitchell return featuring in this somehow.

I'd like for Grant and Courtney to come back.

I think it could happen but I would honestly prefer a Sam recast or for Kim to come back. I don't think Danniella's Sam has what it takes to be a full time character and they made her so unlikeable In her last stint. A recast could work because another actress could bring a fresh take on the character whilst having traits of both the previous Sams'.

And we don't need the nostalgia/chemistry factor in it as Peggy/Ricky/Bianca/Grant/Ronnie/Roxy are all gone (unless they decide to bring Chrissie back then it would be nice to have Kim) as long as the actress works well with Phil.

I hope not! Sam is vile and I wish would get killed off after she dumped Ricky like that. And even if she did, I'd want Kim back.

I would like Ronnie and Roxy's demise to signal the show moving forward, rather than looking back.

I don't like Daniella Westbrook as Sam, even though I know she was the original, but I just think Kim Medcalf was a more solid performer. Sam evolved under Kim Medcalf and I think it was pretty shitty for the role to be handed back to Daniella, when Kim had worked so hard to make the character hers.

Daniella's Sam was selfish, chavvy, unfeeling.

Kim's Sam could be selfish, but she played Sam with a lot more heart.
You could never imagine Daniella's Sam had run the Vic for a time, she was regressed back to Peggy's silly spoiled little girl.

Don't think Daniella Westbrook is a particularly good actress. She might have fit in during the 80s/early 90s but she wouldn't now. Don't know why they re-re cast the role. Sam #2 was perfectly sufficient. At no time during her run did I ever think Daniella Westbrook was missed. To be honest if Sam is to return I'd prefer a third recast than DW back.

She was late once in unavoidable circumstances (her car broke down).

That said Danniella does seem to be having a rough time again atm.

It wouldn't surprise me if Kim did return. I never really bought into her as Sam, especially the gangster stuff in spring 04, but I didn't mind her as the different character she became in my head canon. The aftermath of Den's death (once EE got its act together in mid 2005) is one of my favourite storylines though more so for Chrissie.

Tbh I don’t think Sam is needed even now. She was mostly there to support Peggy and her brothers. Even when Kim got her time in the limelight it was circumstantial. The Den plot is over with now and I doubt she'd have played such a prominent role in the 20th in the first place if the likes of Sharon and Kat had been around.