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Samantha Womack pulled out of the By Royal Appointment theatre tour for 'personal reasons' on Monday.
The former EastEnders actress, 53, will be replaced by a Call The Midwife star, Laura Main, 49.
Samantha had been set to star alongside fellow lead Jane Asher in the new UK tour of Daisy Goodwin’s show.
Laura joins Jane as The Queen, David Robb as The Designer and Matthew Cottle as The Milliner.
The play explores The Queen and her Dresser’s relationship and how the pair created the public image of the world’s longest reigning British monarch.
The press release reads: 'The late Queen Elizabeth II was famous for her discretion. She never said anything in public that could ruffle the lightest of feathers. But she had one way of expressing what she really thought – through her wardrobe.'
By Royal Appointment is a co-production with Cambridge Arts Theatre and will open there on 21 September running until 3 October.
Samantha Womack has pulled out of the By Royal Appointment theatre tour for 'personal reasons' and will be replaced by Call The Midwife star Laura Main, (pictured in 2025)
Laura, (pictured) joins fellow star Jane Asher as The Queen, David Robb as The Designer and Matthew Cottle as The Milliner
It will then move to Nottingham Theatre Royal, Chelmsford Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Chichester Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Kings Theatre and Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury.
Back in April, Samantha appeared to hint her relationship with partner Oliver Farnworth has ended.
She had taken to Instagram earlier this week and uploaded a racy snap in an outdoor hot tub, with the cryptic caption: 'Alone again... naturally'.
Adding further speculation that Samantha has parted ways from Oliver, 44, who plays Emmerdale villain John Sugden, Roxy Simmons, Sam's EastEnders' onscreen sister, commented: 'Obv, love you' (sic).
Samantha, who played Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders before leaving in 2017, replied: 'I've got you though'.
While the actress was flooded with sweet messages, Samantha's son Benjamin cheekily told her: 'There's still time to delete this mum'.
To which she replied: 'I was going to say that about all your gym posts... what a coincidence.'
Oliver and Samantha began dating in 2019, after they grew close while working on the 2019 stage adaptation of The Girl On The Train.
Their relationship started a year after Samantha split from husband Mark after nineteen years of marriage. She has two children Lili-Rose, 21, and Benjamin, 25.
By Royal Appointment is a co-production with Cambridge Arts Theatre and will open there on 21 September running until 3 October
Back in April, Samantha appeared to hint her relationship with partner Oliver Farnworth has ended when she posted this picture on Instagram
Oliver and Samantha began dating in 2019, after they grew close while working on the 2019 stage adaptation of The Girl On The Train (pictured 2019)
Oliver, who played Corrie's Andy Carver from 2014-2017, and Samantha lived together in Spain.
The actress moved to Spain after her beloved dog died just weeks after she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Samantha rescued her dog Lola from Goa, India in 2019 after she and her daughter Lili-Rose fell in love with her over the course of their three week trip.
The actress revealed Lola's death in September 2022 was one of the 'worst days' of her life as it made everything she was facing with her health real.
Lola's death came just a month after the screen star was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Samantha received the all clear five months later, but it was a deeply emotional period for the star who ultimately decided to move to Valencia.
The actress told the Sunday Times: 'She died on the same day as the Queen. I was devastated. It was one of the worst days of my life.'
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