Danniella Westbrook returns to Hollyoaks: Former soap star given lifeline after going bankrupt

Her financial hardships left her homeless and forced her into getting a job at a North London pub, but it looks like Danniella Westbrook is finally getting her life back on track. The former EastEnders star has reportedly been offered a lifeline by Channel 4 in the form of a comeback on popular soap Hollyoaks.

Reprising her role as former jailbird Trudy Ryan will help save the 41-year-old's ailing acting career and bring an end to her financial woes, after months of living on handouts.

A source told The Sun that the struggling star, who rose to fame playing Peggy Mitchell's loudmouth daughter Sam Mitchell in EastEnders, is seeing the new gig as a fresh start. She originally played Trudy for 16 episodes during the run-up to Jacqui McQueen's departure before leaving the show in 2013.

"It's a huge thing for Danniella. She has been through a lot of financial hardship over recent times," the insider said. "Now she's going to be earning a good wage back on TV like the old days. Hopefully, this will really help her turn a corner."

In December, the mother-of-two, whose nasal septum famously collapsed as a result of her cocaine addiction, described 2014 as the "worst year" of her life and revealed that she was forced to move her family into sheltered accommodation. She was pictured outside the Jobcentre as she struggled to make ends meet.

After 12 years of being clean, her split from boyfriend Tom Richards triggered a break down and she reportedly flew to Magaluf for drugs and had sex with her dealer.

"It's a car crash ... and I have to say, I thought that nearly losing my life was the worst point of my life, but I think that this year has been the worse year that I've ever had," she told Phillip Schofield and Amanda Holden on This Morning.

"I always think if you mess up, the best way is to put your hands up and say I've done wrong. There's no point keep sweeping things under the carpet."

In March, Westbrook revealed that she had started pulling pints at a friend's pub "to make her feel useful", after she was pictured in her new uniform.