Danniella Westbrook reveals she took c.o.c.a.i.n.e on EastEnders set and collapsed in Queen Vic

Danniella Westbrook has admitted to “taking gear” on the iconic set of EastEnders in a shocking revelation about her d.r.u.g addiction.

The Sam Mitchell star, 51, was once the toast of the BBC when she rocked up on the iconic soap as a fresh-faced 16-year-old playing the bubbly blonde little sister of Phil [Steve McFadden] and Grant [Ross Kemp] Mitchell.

However, tragically, drugs took a hold over Danniella – who admitted to taking 42 grams of cocaine a week during her lowest ebb – and she lost her job on EastEnders during her high-profile battle with the drug.

Opening up about life as a cocaine addict, she admitted to “taking gear” on the set of the soap during her second stint on the show in the nineties. Recalling the terrifying aftermath, the mum-of-two claims she once passed out on set in Elstree after tumbling down the stairs of the Queen Vic pub.

Speaking to the Criminal Connection podcast, Danniella says: “The second time I was back, I was doing gear. They had to get rid of me in the end because I passed out once. I had a cocaine convulsion and I fell from the top of the stairs in the Vic and I just passed clean out and Ross Kemp caught me at the bottom.”

The actress sent shockwaves through the showbiz industry when she photographed on a night out in the nineties with a huge chunk of her septum missing.

Having been asked to leave EastEnders in 1995, the producers asked Danniella back to the soap a second time. However, the actress was regularly using cocaine and it began to affect her work. Due to her off-screen difficulties and alleged timekeeping issues, the producers of EastEnders terminated her contract and she was written out of the soap again in 1996.

Recalling her darkest days, Danniella says she was doing a staggering 42 grams of c.o.c.a.i.n.e a week before she was admitted to rehab. Admitting she was painfully thin and could “count every vertebrae”, the actress heartbreakingly shares she was ‘trying to k.i.l.l herself all the time’.

After various stints at rehab, Danniella pledged to ditch cocaine for good and embarked on plastic surgery journey to try and repair the damage the drug had done to her features.

Sadly, she’s had a number of botched jobs, including an operation to try and reconstruct her nose in Turkey, which left her bloodied, bruised and hospitalised.

Trolls were quick to criticise the troubled star for her appearance, however, defending Danniella from the nasty comments, one fan took to social media saying: “Why so many cruel, hurtful comments. Self inflicted? If you’ve ever had anything to do with addiction you’ll know it’s not quite that simple.

“The first time, yes you knew right from wrong and you made the wrong choice, but once the drug takes hold you have no choice – the addiction takes control of your decisions. A little kindness please.”