The actress, who plays barmaid Sam Mitchell, suffered multiple broken bones in the accident on the first day of her holiday with her boyfriend.

The pair were en route to Italy last Saturday when their vehicle crashed near Calais.

Medcalf broke her leg, hand and a breast bone in the accident.

Best wishes

A BBC spokesman said the EastEnders cast had sent the actress their best wishes for a speedy recovery.

"She's still in France and will return to the UK when she's fit to travel.

Michelle Ryan (R) is on indefinite sick leave

"The main priority is that she gets better and doesn't even think of returning to work until she's recovered."

Another spokeswoman told BBC News Online that filming schedules for the BBC One soap would not be immmediately disrupted since Medcalf had holiday booked.

She added that it was too early to say whether her injuries would force her to miss filming.

Last month fellow EastEnders actress Michelle Ryan, went on indefinite sick leave.

The 18-year-old had been due to star in the soap wedding of the year when her character marries Albert Square doctor Anthony Trueman.

But the storyline has been put on hold after doctors said the teenager was unlikely to return before August.

Flings

Medcalf joined EastEnders in January 2002, replacing the actress Daniella Westbrook.

Her character Sam was dragged back to the BBC One soap's Albert Square after being found by her mother working as a topless waitress in Spain.

Sam - formerly known as Sam Butcher when married to her childhood sweetheart Ricky - has a reputation for taking off suddenly, only to reappear out of the blue.

The character has had a couple of controversial storylines involving relationships with men, including a fling with Steve Owen, who was played by Martin Kemp, and a flirtation with Sharon Watts's (Letitia Dean) boyfriend.