Actress Danniella Westbrook attended a film premiere in London on Tuesday evening after revealing the exhaustion caused by her ongoing facial reconstruction surgery.
The former EastEnders star, 52, put on a brave face at the screening of Rise Of The Footsoldier: Retribution at the Cineworld cinema complex in Leicester Square.
Ahead of her next operation, Westbrook stepped onto the red carpet wearing a white tweed jacket paired with a black and white Chanel scarf. She completed her look with blonde hair styled in bouncy curls, glamorous make-up, and black accessories including a handbag and loafers.
Westbrook is currently 18 months into a comprehensive facial reconstruction journey to repair extensive damage. The physical deterioration followed years of drug abuse that resulted in a collapsed septum.
Surgical procedures and rib graft details
Speaking during a recent interview on At Home With Vanessa, a new YouTube show hosted by presenter Vanessa Feltz, the actress opened up about the heavy physical and mental toll of her repeated operations.
Westbrook explained that she has already undergone six surgical procedures and expects to undergo at least four more before her facial reconstruction is complete.
"I'm feeling okay," Westbrook said, revealing that she received a telephone call on the day of the interview confirming her next surgery date in October.
During the upcoming operation, surgeons will take graft material from her ribcage to rebuild her nose. "So that's when they redo, make this bit skinny and pull it up and they put the ribs in the side and stuff and everything to support it," she said, pointing to her nose.
Expressing shock at the complex technique, Feltz responded: "Bits from your ribs are going in the side of your nose. B****y hell. How many ops so far?"
"I've had I think, six," Westbrook replied, confirming that at least four additional operations remain on her treatment schedule.
Physical exhaustion and recovery struggles
Westbrook spoke warmly of her medical team, stating: "I trust my surgeon implicitly. I really do trust him. But I do feel like I'm 52."
She described the severe physical demands caused by prolonged general anaesthesia and lengthy operating sessions. "I put my body through enough and then putting your body through anesthetic and it's not short surgery. It's like five or six hours each time," she explained.
The prolonged recovery periods between operations have left her feeling drained. "And the recovery from that. I'm really feeling the recovery if I'm honest. I just feel absolutely exhausted," she said.
Westbrook admitted that the painful aftermath of recent procedures made her question whether to continue. "I feel like I've got nothing left. When I come around, I'm like, 'Please just let me sleep.' I've got nothing left," she confessed.
"I'm at that stage now where I've come around from surgery with the last two and I've been like no more. This is just going to have to be how I look. I don't want to do it anymore," she added.
Despite the ordeal, Westbrook confirmed she must proceed with the schedule for medical reasons. "But I'm still carrying on because I have to because it's respiratory I have to be able to breathe properly," she noted.
When Feltz asked how she was feeling at that exact moment during the interview, Westbrook described her immediate physical state. "I've got all stitches in here and in my lips actually I can see under that nose there but I feel okay," she said.
Osteoporosis and metal cheekbone implants
Earlier this year in March, Westbrook travelled to Gargash Hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where she underwent a full facial, neck, and brow lift, alongside lip and nose reconstruction.
The operations in the UAE were performed by plastic surgeon Dr Parviz Sadigh, who has previously carried out surgical procedures on her face.
Reflecting on those procedures at the time, Westbrook said: "I have three more nose operations to go. So we’re over half way there now. Facelift has really changed me and given me my confidence back."
However, Westbrook confirmed during her interview with Feltz that further structural operations will be required due to severe bone loss caused by osteoporosis.
"I've been for umpteen surgeries, I'm coming up to surgery number six at the moment, so it's quite scary," she said. "Since I got older the osteoporosis has set in on my bones. So on this side of my face, I don't have any bone at all."
She explained that temporary dermal fillers are currently maintaining her facial shape until permanent implants can be secured. "So they've got to rebuild all my bones. At the moment it's filler, but they've really got to do a metal bone. It's got to be put in there," she said.
She detailed plans for a metallic cheekbone replacement: "So I've got to do at some point a metal cheekbone here and connect it to further up in here where the bone isn't corroding."
Career history and health battles
Westbrook first rose to prominence at the age of 16 when she was cast as Sam Mitchell in EastEnders, the long-running BBC television soap opera set in East London.
Her television career was severely disrupted by heavy drug addiction. Following prolonged cocaine abuse that eventually destroyed her nasal septum, producers terminated her contract, and she was written out of the soap in 1996.
She has since spent years undergoing complex corrective procedures to restore her facial structure and maintain basic respiratory function.
