Sam Holden - either you love her, or you hate her. 80% of the forum members will be on the latter side. 50% of those 80% will probably refer to her as Sam Tolhurst.
Sam first arrived on screen as Jack's physiotherapist, helping him regain movement in his legs. Soon after, he recovered. Having a hot physio sure helps in Summer Bay, it seems. Because not soon after, he was walking on crutches and though he may not need Sam's help with his legs 24/7, he found a new use for her - romance. They soon clicked as a couple, and were quite a sweet family - Jack, Sam and her little boy Rory. But, nothing stays so innocent for long in the Bay, and sure enough, we discovered Sam had a 'dark secret.' Before Sam had Rory, she had a little girl with a rare disease, and she and Shane (her ex-husband) had travelled all over the world to try and find a cure. This obviously cost a lot of money, and Sam found out Shane was dealing drugs to get the money. Somewhere along the line Shane had shot someone. Sam witnessed this, supplied evidence in court, and got Shane locked up. Suddenly, after Rory said something to Jack about their old house, she told him they were leaving. Jack didn't understand, but later he found Sam on the doorstep, crying. She said Shane had friends on the outside and that they were after Rory. Her real name was Kylie Deeks and she was on the run. Jack promised Sam he'd look after her and they stayed after all. Although there was a little misunderstanding when Martha kissed Jack, their relationship was quite strong. Then came the Picnic that Sam organized. Well, naturally, she got thirsty as it was a hot day, so she went to fill her water bottle. And there he was, some psycho mate of Shane's with handcuffs. She just barely escaped. But she feared Rory was in more danger, so they left, leaving Jack a note.
So Sam's first stint wasn't that interesting, really. Not until towards the end. But then she came back.
Sam had fallen down the stairs and broken her leg. Forgetting her reasons for leaving in the first place, she returned to Summer Bay with Jack. Drama, drama, drama from there on. Mostly to do with Jack and Martha, but Jack and Sam survived, even the dreaded wedding dress disaster! Yep, Jam got engaged. What a sweet couple. They also got married, missing one important guest - Martha, as Sam had banned her from the wedding. But, actually, she was there. And that didn't turn out well. But what, really, was Sam's purpose, other than to annoy the JM fans? Well, Johnny Cooper, big time villain, broke out of jail. And Sam was helping him. She hid him in her 'Art Studio' (Lucas's old room), keeping him well undercover although he was right next door to Tony. And Jazz.
This clever plot lasted for a while. Long enough for Johnny to stab Sally, which is what he escaped for, but she survived. So he tried again, but Sam was a little more reluctant to help him. This never-ending cycle resolved in Sam hitting him over the head with a Baseball bat. He just about survived. Sam saw him in hospital, and got scared, and (according to the Promos) committed the 'perfect murder'. Here's the scene - picks up a syringe. Fills it with something (as far as I know it was never mentioned what it was). Injects it into Johnny. He dies. No evidence whatsoever. No reason to suspect Sammy. She got very scared, so she made up that she saw some man at the hospital so they started chasing this figment of her imagination. Then she found out some people at Jack's work thought she murdered Johnny. So she paid 1000 dollars for some guy to beat her up. Jack 'worked out' that this guy must be related to Johnny's murder.
Jack, however, found a letter. It was written by Johnny and explained about Sam's past. Remember her story about Shane dealing drugs without her knowledge? Well, it turns out she was supplying the drugs! And Johnny also wrote about how Sam had helped him.
This is Sam's story. She came, she went, she came, she was revealed to be helping a criminal. That's life.
Referring back to my earlier statement about Sam's Like and dislike, here is what some members have to say about Sam. Collected from the Sam Love and Sam Deprecation Threads.
I love Sam and I don't understand why there is such a vehement attitude towards her character. Maybe I don't see her as a coniving crack-whore but am I supposed to? She doesn't come across that way - All she has done is protected what was hers - that being Rory and Jack. (Truthisrealfreedom) I think she will be missed and even people who have said they hated her are saying how good the story is and how good Jessica Chapnik is. I am going to miss her. (I Love Sam) The woman is the. most. annoying. patronising and irritating character on the show for me. (Jamey-Maria) I can't stand Sam, she's annoying and she always takes thing the wrong way. And she doesn't seem to be able to mind her own business, she always gets involved in things that is none of her business! (valli) I think Jess's acting has been bloody brilliant and the Johnny stuff is just so good - Performance wise and story wise this has been a fascinating few weeks, and I have enjoyed it enormously. The performance which makes you hate yet almost pity her and feel sorry for her at the same time is quite some performance. (Taz) I really think that Sam is literally the most irritating character there has ever been on any TV show. (xkatyxxx) Sam is definitely an interesting character and I always knew she had great potential. This storyline with Johnny has been amazing, Jess is a truly wonderful actress with a great talent in portraying Sam's many layers. (Cerise)