Danniella Westbrook has undergone the latest in a series of surgical procedures to help reconstruct her face. The EastEnders star has been on a major journey to restore her face after facing several medical hurdles along the way. Actress Danniella, now 52, has been open and vocal about her past struggles with drugs. After shooting to fame on the BBC soap opera, she became addicted to drugs, which caused the septum in her nose to rot away. Since then, she has experienced several other mishaps while trying to restore her face, which have also drastically impacted her health. However, as she prepares to go under the knife another five times over the coming months, the EastEnders star has stated that she needs to do it to reclaim her health. As Danniella flaunts the latest results from her operations, we look back at the star's journey with her face.
EastEnders Fame
Danniella Westbrook first shot onto our screens when she joined the cast of EastEnders at just 16 years old. Playing the role of Sam Mitchell, she quickly became a fan favorite after joining in 1990.
Nineties Problems
After three years on the soap, Danniella left EastEnders but returned to Albert Square in 1995. It was at this time that her cocaine use escalated dramatically, which began to drastically affect her work. It also affected her face, as taking up to five grams of cocaine a day at the height of her fame took its toll, eventually rotting her septum away by 2000.
Getting Clean
After checking into rehab, Danniella seemed to be on the road to recovery as she underwent her first set of surgical procedures to rebuild her eroded septum. However, she struggled to stay away from drugs entirely and had to return to rehab in 2006, by which point she estimated she had spent £250,000 on cocaine.
Return to the Square
In 2009, after proving she was clean and with her face reconstructed, Danniella returned to EastEnders, reprising her role as Sam Mitchell for two short stints before leaving the following year. She later returned to the show for another brief stint in 2016.
Health Struggles
After appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, things took a turn for the worse for Danniella as she relapsed following a relationship breakup. The situation became so dire that she attempted suicide through an overdose. At this point, the bones in her face began to degrade, causing her face to collapse.
Falling Off the Wagon
Danniella flew to Poland in 2017 for a six-hour facial reconstruction surgery, taking bones from her skull to rebuild her jaw. However, as the years went on, she battled her cocaine addiction once again, eventually being checked into rehab by the now-disgraced Jeremy Kyle in 2019. She later claimed this rehab ultimately saved her life.
More Surgeries
In 2022, Danniella traveled to Turkey for several facial reconstruction surgeries, including a surgical thread lift, fat transfer, and nasal and bone reconstruction. However, she also experienced several other health scares during this time, notably a brush with death after developing sepsis, which was eventually treated.
Close Shaves with Death
Throughout her various surgeries over the years, Danniella has come close to death as a result of botched procedures done to restore her face. She has also claimed the procedures have been emotionally and physically taxing, but remains determined to return to her natural beauty.
Upcoming Surgeries
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Danniella would undergo six more surgeries over the next year to continue her journey toward fully reconstructing her face. Speaking to Vannessa Feltz on her Channel 5 show, she explained: 'So they've got to rebuild all my bones. At the moment it's filler, but they've really got to do a metal bone.'
