Filthy Rich Star's Dark Secret I Cheated Death!

- Ashleigh Mcenaney

When her racy character was violently hurled off a building in Filthy Rich’s season one cliffhanger, it wasn’t only fans who wanted to know if Savannah survived – actress Emma Fenton was in the dark too.

While producers decided if the TVNZ 2 show’s scandalous stripper lived or died, the 26-year-old was confronted with the harsh reality she could be out of a job.

“It was really scary,” Emma confesses, speaking exclusively to Woman’s Day. “It’s every actor’s greatest fear that the job you are doing could be your last, but when that almost became a reality, I wasn’t prepared at all and it seemed really unfair. Losing this job would have broken my heart.

“I started second-guessing my performance. Was there something I did or didn’t do? Or something I could’ve done better? When you’ve been in a long-term role, it takes people like casting agents and directors ages to forget, so I started thinking, ‘If I can’t be on Filthy Rich, where can I work?’”

Fortunately, Savannah made a full recovery, as Filthy fans discovered last week. Emma learnt of her sexy, sassy alter ego’s miraculous comeback a year ago, but she struggled to keep the exciting news under wraps for 12 long months.

Wink, wink!