Candids of Samantha outside the Brighton Court have made there way onto the net but under no circumstances will I post them on the site,out of respect to Samantha.Sorry guys but It’s an upsetting day for Samantha,I refuse to post them.I hope you guys understand this.
EastEnders actress Samantha Womack wept today as she heard how her father committed suicide.
Mrs Womack, 37, who plays Ronnie Mitchell in the soap, wiped away tears as she heard of her father’s decline at an inquest at Brighton County Court.
Supported by her husband Mark Womack, the actress listened as the inquest was told that 60-year-old Noel Janes had appeared “distant” and “reflective” during the days before his death on August 22 last year.
He was found hanged in his one-bedroom flat in Mimosa Court, Burstead Close, Brighton, East Sussex.
His mother, Dolly Gordon, said that she had become increasingly concerned for his well-being when she had been unable to contact him by telephone on the day before he was found dead.
Describing his manner when she last spoke to him on August 20, she said: “He was dreadful, absolutely awful. He was very low for three months before but on the week before he died he was in a dreadful state, very detached.
“He was miserable, he was completely detached, you couldn’t get near him.”
The inquest heard that Mrs Gordon asked a friend of Mr Janes, Reg Woodhouse, to check on her son.
Mr Woodhouse told the hearing that he arranged for another friend, who had a key to the flat, to meet him at the property, which he found in a tidy condition.
He said: “The first thing I saw, that my eye catches a glimpse of, are the feet of Noel and the legs crossed.”
He contacted 999 but no resuscitation attempts were made because rigor mortis had already set in.
Consultant pathologist Dr Mark Taylor said that the cause of death was hanging.
He added that toxicology results showed that Mr Janes had alcohol levels in his blood equivalent to twice the drink-drive limit as well as trace elements of pain medication which he had been taking for back pain.
Mr Janes, who was born in London, had suffered from anxiety in 2001 and 2007 but was not on medication for the condition.
His actress daughter asked Dr Taylor for confirmation of a heart condition which Mr Janes had been diagnosed with a month before his death.
The pathologist said that it was a common condition and had not contributed to her father’s death.
Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley said that although no suicide note had been found she was satisfied that Mr Janes had intended to take his own life and there were no suspicious circumstances.
She said: “I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that he himself arranged to put the ligature round his neck and he did it intending that death would be the result.”
Speaking to Mrs Womack and other family members in the court: “I offer all of my heartfelt condolences on your loss.”
Born in Brighton, Mrs Womack changed from her maiden name Janus when she married actor Mark Womack last year.
Her previous notable roles include playing Mandy Wilkins in the 1990s sitcom Game On.
Other credits include parts in Judge John Deed, Babes In The Wood and she also represented the UK in the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest.
In 2001, Mr Janes, a former businessman, was evicted from a flat in Brighton after claiming his rent was raised but his housing benefit was not.
He said at the time: “My daughter has got her own life. I believe in dealing with these things myself. I have told her what has happened and she said she supported me in what I have been trying to do.”
