Womack recalls emotional Kenya trip

EastEnders star Samantha Womack has spoken about experiencing life in one of the world's largest slums.

The actress, who plays Ronnie Branning in the BBC One soap, was left to fend for herself in the Kibera slum for a new Comic Relief project, alongside Lenny Henry, Reggie Yates, and Angela Rippon.

Speaking of the project, she told Reader's Digest Magazine: "I have to say, I was sceptical. I thought they [the producers] weren't really going to leave us, but they did.

"In one way I'd go, 'Gosh, nothing can ever be as bad as that', but at the same time I've never felt so connected to people. They're the most motivated and dynamic people I've ever met. They just want a bit of help so they can do what they need to do to make their lives better.

"What's difficult for me is I just want to go back. I feel like I'm treading water until I do, because I got so close to so many people. I've not felt as valued and as alive as I did when helping in Kibera."

Recalling working in a health centre, Womack told of a young woman named Elizabeth, who gave birth to a stillborn boy.

"I emotionally and physically froze because I didn't know how to process what I was seeing," she said. "Just because Elizabeth hadn't had enough money to come to the hospital and get checked out, she'd opened her legs in reception and the baby literally fell out."