Samantha Fitzgerald

Samantha "Sam" Fitzgerald is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Simone Buchanan. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 21 March 2008. After departing on 25 June 2008, she made a brief return on 24 November 2008. Samantha's main storylines focused on her marriage to Daniel Fitzgerald (Brett Tucker), her bipolar disorder, which was triggered by a miscarriage prior to her introduction, and a pregnancy. In June 2010, executive producer Susan Bower announced that Buchanan had reprised her role and Samantha returned on 1 November 2010. She was the lead prosecutor in Stephanie Scully's (Carla Bonner) culpable driving trial. The character departed on 24 November 2010. Buchanan reprised the role ten years later, and returned on 6 April 2020.

Buchanan joined the cast of Neighbours in early 2008 in a five-month guest role capacity. She said Sam's bipolar disorder was "definitely an incentive" for her accepting the part.

Colin Vickery of the Herald Sun described Samantha as a "smart, successful lawyer". A writer for the official Neighbours website wrote that Sam is "long-suffering" and an "off-the-rails lawyer". They also called the character "fiery". Actress Kym Valentine dubbed Samantha "a beautiful, intelligent woman". Johnathon for Daytime Confidential said Sam would "go to incredible lengths to get Dan".

Samantha was introduced as the estranged wife of Daniel Fitzgerald (Brett Tucker). Tucker told Jackie Brygel of TV Week that during a meeting to discuss his character's return to the show, it was "loosely" mentioned that he could have a wife. The idea was later used. Dan initially keeps his marital status a secret until he develops feelings for Libby Kennedy (Valentine). He decides to be honest with her before their relationship goes any further. Their conversation prompts Dan to get in contact with Samantha. Tucker said, "Dan realises he has got a few things to sort out with his ex. What I can tell you is that his past involved a lot of pain and turmoil. He now knows that he has to dredge all that up again so that he can move on completely and perhaps start a new relationship with Libby." Dan has mixed emotions when Samantha then turns up Erinsborough, while Libby can see that there is still something between the two of them. Buchanan thought the Sam/Dan/Libby triangle was an interesting storyline. She explained that Samantha was unaware of Libby and "innocently comes back into the picture". Buchanan did not think either of the women were the villain in the situation.

One of Samantha's main storylines was her battle with bipolar disorder. The storyline required careful planning as the Neighbours production team wanted to portray the issue sensitively. Buchanan worked closely with mental health charity SANE Australia to carry out the relevant research. With their help the scriptwriters, production team and Buchanan worked to portray the illness as accurately as possible. Buchanan's brother, Miles Buchanan, has bipolar disorder and is a spokesperson for the charity. He spoke of his delight that Neighbours decided to include such a storyline and praised it for being "gripping". Buchanan immediately turned to her brother when she got the role of Samantha and he helped her with her portrayal of the illness.

Buchanan herself felt that she had done the storyline justice. During an interview with the charity she stated: "I think they've done a great job, the writers really did their research beforehand; they spent time with people who have bipolar disorder, and worked closely with SANE Australia. They haven't glossed over it." Neighbours' executive producer Susan Bower said that it was important to represent the character dealing with bipolar disorder accurately. She also said that any health condition had to be "properly researched", as they did not want to give viewers any misinformation. Bower added, "In the end, proper research also helps you tell the story better than making it up".

Samantha's bipolar disorder was triggered by a miscarriage she and Dan suffered a few years prior. During their reunion, Samantha encourages Dan to work through the pain of the miscarriage. Buchanan called the plot "an absolute emotional rollercoaster" and explained that Samantha had been six months along in her pregnancy when she lost the baby. As they grieved for their child, viewers are shown how close Samantha and Dan's bond was and are given an insight into their history as a couple. Samantha plans to leave Erinsborough and let Dan get on with his life, but once they bond again, Dan does not want her to go and she decides to stay. Samantha and Dan then share a kiss and realise they still love each other.

Samantha later comes off her bipolar medication to try and get pregnant. After she fails to conceive, she lies to Dan that she is pregnant. Samantha believes that if she lies, she will have an opportunity to fall pregnant that month and no one will have to know about her lie. When Samantha becomes aware that Dan is about to find out the truth, she tells him she has suffered another miscarriage. Buchanan told Jackie Brygel of TV Week, "With each day that Samantha's off her medication, she becomes more and more paranoid about Dan's feelings for Libby. Samantha's really not thinking straight and she's going into a manic phase. Everything is falling apart around her, but it's very difficult for her to realise she's going down."