Ex-EastEnder Sam Womack is coming home to Edinburgh

SAMANTHA Womack comes home to Edinburgh in The Girl On The Train, at The King’s next week, which is sure to bring back memories of growing up here for the ex-EastEnder.
Samantha Womack playing Rachel WatsonSamantha Womack playing Rachel Watson
Samantha Womack playing Rachel Watson

Last time she was here she recalled, “I was a mod back then. I absolutely loved it. Laced gloves, winkle picker boots and riding on the back of my boyfriend’s scooter… it was such an iconic time and I associate my time in Edinburgh with the fashion of the day.

“I also vividly remember getting stuck on Cramond Island. The views were beautiful.”

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Last time Womack was in town to star in The Addams Family, this time it’s a gripping thriller based on the internationally acclaimed best-selling novel by Paula Hawkins.

She plays Rachel Watson who longs for a different life. Her only escape is the perfect couple she watches through the train window every day, happy and in love.

Or so it appears. When Rachel learns that the woman she’s been secretly watching has suddenly disappeared, she finds herself as a witness and even a suspect in a thrilling mystery in which she will face bigger revelations than she could ever have anticipated.

Still best known for playing Ronnie Mitchell in BBC1’s EastEnders, Womack says, “Having been thoroughly captivated by the novel, the opportunity to take on a role like this is incredibly exciting.

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“I’ve been fascinated by thrillers for a long time and this kind of storytelling, like Hitchcock’s Rear Window, offers us a voyeurs journey into a world which is dangerous and full of suspense.”

The cast is completed by Oliver Farnworth, who is best known for playing Andy Carver in Coronation Street as Scott, with John Dougall as DI Gaskill, Naeem Hayatt as Kamal Abdic, Adam Jackson-Smith as Tom Watson, Lowenna Melrose as Anna Watson, and Kirsty Oswald as Megan Hipwell. They are joined by Philippa Flynn and Matt Concannon.

Hawkins’ novel has become an international phenomenon, selling more than 20 million copies world-wide.

Womack, who likes to get back to Edinburgh as often as she can - “I’ve still got loads of friends there.” - is no stranger to the Capital’s stages and is in little doubt about what she loves the most about her hometown: “The people. Always. It’s such a historic place with real beauty but for me it’s the people that make Edinburgh what it is.”

The Girl On The Train, King’s Theatre, Leven Street, 25-30 March, £18-£31.50, 0131-529 6000

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