Enlarge photo

You Might Like

All Saints

Beauty and the Geek

Home and Away

Related Links

Behind the scenes

Go an exclusive tour with the Packed to the Rafter's cast

Meet Ben Rafter

We chat to the cheeky Hugh Sheridan

The sexy, outgoing, irrepressible only-daughter of wealthy property developer, Anthony Westaway, Sammy is undeniably a princess - beautiful, assured, well-dressed.

But unlike many princesses from similarly affluent backgrounds, “spoiled” is one adjective you could never apply to her. Perhaps because she’s always had everything money can buy, Sammy values possessions less, except maybe when it comes to shoes.

She knows that she and Nathan look great when they go out together, that they wear each other like expensive accessories, but the truth is she loves her husband for the private times, the jokes they share.

Nathan has never allowed himself to let his guard down or been more open with anyone in his life than with her. Her insistence on honesty and openness has been the ongoing strength of their bond. But it’s not only Nathan who Sammy’s been able to disarm. Her straightforward, confident nature ultimately endears her to everyone. She’s never prying, judging or manipulating and is always ready to offer a sympathetic ear.

But she also has a streak of stubbornness and independence. With a father as career-driven and singled-minded as hers, and the example of a mother who’s nothing more than a well-groomed door-mat, Sammy has learnt from a young age to stand up for herself.

Her choice of career – hospitality, she works front-of-house at a boutique hotel – was made in direct defiance of her father’s wishes that she follow him into the family business. Sammy’s determination to make her own life with Nathan is not helped by her inability – as her father predicted – to properly cut back on her spending.

“Nathan and Sammy have been a bit ambitious with their spending,” Jessica explains. “Sammy has spent a lot of money but Nathan never clued her in on their financial situation. She has no idea they’re in trouble until Nathan pulls out a pile of bills and tells her.”

With a massive debt hanging over their heads, they move in with the Rafters to help pay it off. “Sammy and Nathan start lying to their family about the reasons why they’re living there,” Jessica says. “They tell them their money is tied up in a property deal but the reality is they have no money. Nathan’s too embarrassed to tell his family the truth. It puts a wall between them and their family. Lying to them doesn’t sit well with her.”

Sammy has found with Nathan the family closeness she always missed as a young girl. “In many ways she wishes her own family was more like the Rafters,” Jessica says. “They don’t have the money she grew up with, but there’s more love and warmth in their household, especially between Nathan’s parents.

Watch Jessica McNamee confess she’s a shopaholic, just like Sammy here