Samantha Janus

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Samantha Janus in a scene from Strange

Samantha Janus (born 2 November 1972 in Brighton) is a British actress. She is married to the actor Mark Womack, with whom she has two children - Benjamin, born in 2001 and Lily in 2005.

She attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London and first came to prominence in 1991, where she won the annual A Song For Europe competition to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest. She finished equal tenth and the song, "A Message To Your Heart", peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. It would prove to be her only foray into the music world, and she began to make her name as an actress.

She appeared in episodes of The Bill and Press Gang before landing the part of Mandy in the cult BBC Two sitcom Game On alongside Ben Chaplin in 1995. Showing a natural comic touch, she stayed on the show until it finished in 1998. In between series of Game On, she had a part in the BBC One drama Pie in the Sky from 1995 - 1996.

In 1998 she starred in the ITV series Liverpool 1 alongside her future husband Mark Womack. She then returned to comedy in the ITV sitcom Babes In The Wood. Co-starring another Sylvia Young Theatre School student, Denise van Outen, it was critically panned despite respectable ratings, and Janus left after the first series.

In 2002 she returned to TV screens in the BBC One drama Strange and after that series ended in 2003, she has had roles in the films The Baby Juice Express and Dead Man's Cards.

A popular choice for photo shoots in men's magazines such as FHM, she came 21st in the FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World 1998 poll and 41st in the same listing in 1999.

Currently, Janus is starring in the BBC One comedy Home Again as Ingrid. She is also starring as Miss Adelaide in the West End production of the musical Guys and Dolls at London's Piccadilly Theatre, alongside Patrick Swayze.

An actress who, earlier in her career, was often mistaken for Janus is Sarah Alexander, but her growing fame now means this occurs less frequently.