Samantha was unaware that her father was Richard Beckinsale until she was 11 – the same year he married actress Judy Loe.
In 1990, Beckinsale was chosen by LWT to play firefighter Kate Stevens in ITV's drama series London's Burning, which ran from 1986 to 2002.
[4] In 1989, Beckinsale guest-starred as WPC Martin in an episode of Thames Television's Never the Twain.
Shortly after this, she was given the role of Lesley in the final three series of Thames Television's Shelley.
In 1997, Beckinsale starred as Jilly Howell in the short-lived sitcom Get Well Soon and in 1998 she was chosen by LWT to play the role of Gillian Monroe in the short-lived sitcom Duck Patrol with Richard Wilson.