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Samantha Janus' father found hanged

By Kate Matharu on Monday 24 August 2009

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Samantha Janus - Celebrity News - Marie Claire

EastEnders star Samantha Janus is said to be devastated after her father was found hanged in his bathroom on Saturday.

The actress, who plays Ronnie Mitchell in the soap, was photographed in floods of tears yesterday as she collected a few of his belongings from his Brighton home with husband Mark Womack.

He told press she was ‘too upset to talk’ and has asked to be left alone to grieve with her family.

Police are not treating Mr Janus’ death as suspicious as it is thought the 60-year-old committed suicide after a long battle with depression, and was discovered dead by a neighbour.

Earlier this year he attended Samantha’s wedding at London hotel Claridge’s, seemingly putting an end to a 20-year feud between father and daughter that started when he walked out on his family when Samantha was six.

But despite inviting him to her big day, the 36-year-old refused to let her father walk her down the aisle or make a speech.

Mr Janus, a former songwriter and brother of George Best’s first wife Angie, was said to be particularly upset that he did not feature in any of the photographs of the wedding published in OK! magazine and described the snub as ‘a dagger to the heart.’

He had previously tried to heal the rift in their relationship by sending Samantha a gift to the Dominion Theatre back in 1996, when she performed as Sandy in Grease.

At the time, Samantha said: ‘The only way I can cope with [our relationship] is to block it out. You have a fantasy figure in your mind and suddenly that’s shattered by this real person – an ageing adult with problems and insecurities.’

Mr Janus, who lived in a one-bedroom council flat, was also said to have heart problems.