Samantha Fitzgerald
| Samantha Fitzgerald | |||||
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| Neighbours character | |||||
| Portrayed by | Simone Buchanan | ||||
| Duration | 2008–10 | ||||
| First appearance | 21 March 2008 | ||||
| Last appearance | 24 November 2010 | ||||
| Introduced by | Ric Pellizzeri and Susan Bower (2008) Susan Bower (2010) |
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| Classification | Former; recurring | ||||
| Profile | |||||
| Occupation | Lawyer Newspaper legal advisor |
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| Home | New Zealand | ||||
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| Husband | Daniel Fitzgerald (2002–08) |
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| Daughters | Emma Fitzgerald |
Samantha "Sam" Fitzgerald (also Grieves) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Simone Buchanan. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 21 March 2008. After departing on 25 June 2008, she made a brief return on 24 November 2008. Sam's main storylines focused on her marriage to Daniel Fitzgerald (Brett Tucker), her bipolar disorder, which was triggered by a miscarriage prior to her introduction, and a pregnancy. In June 2010, executive producer Susan Bower announced that Buchanan had reprised her role and Sam returned on 1 November 2010. She was the lead prosecutor in Stephanie Scully's (Carla Bonner) culpable driving trial. The character departed on 24 November 2010.
Buchanan joined the cast of Neighbours in early 2008 in a five-month guest role capacity. She said Sam's bipolar disorder was "definitely an incentive" for her accepting the part.
Colin Vickery of the Herald Sun described Samantha as a "smart, successful lawyer". A writer for the official Neighbours website said Sam was "long-suffering" and an "off-the-rails lawyer". They also called the character "fiery". Actress Kym Valentine dubbed Sam "a beautiful, intelligent woman". Johnathon for Daytime Confidential said Sam would "go to incredible lengths to get Dan".
Sam was introduced as the estranged wife of Daniel Fitzgerald (Brett Tucker). Tucker told Jackie Brygel of TV Week that during a meeting to discuss his character's return to the show, it was "loosely" mentioned that he could have a wife. The idea was later used. Dan initially kept his marital status a secret until he developed feelings for Libby Kennedy (Valentine). He decided to be honest with her before their relationship went any further. Their conversation prompted Dan to get in contact with Sam. Tucker said "Dan realises he has got a few things to sort out with his ex. What I can tell you is that his past involved a lot of pain and turmoil. He now knows that he has to dredge all that up again so that he can move on completely and perhaps start a new relationship with Libby." Dan had mixed emotions when Sam then turned up Erinsborough, while Libby could see that there was still something between the two of them. Buchanan thought the Sam/Dan/Libby triangle was an interesting storyline. She explained that Sam was unaware of Libby and "innocently comes back into the picture". Buchanan did not think either of the women were the villain in the situation.
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