Sam Faiers celebrates birthday on Zoom two months after Maldives trip

Sam Faiers celebrated her belated 30th birthday with a Zoom party on Sunday, two months after spending the actual day on holiday in The Maldives. 

The former TOWIE star shared a slew of videos on Instagram Stories of her house decorated with balloons and a snap of her loved ones all joining the video chat during filming for The Mummy Diaries.

The belated party comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed last month that Sam broke Covid travel rules by jetting abroad to The Maldives for her actual 30th in late December. 

A bit delayed? Sam Faiers celebrated her 30th birthday two months late on Sunday, as she threw a Zoom party on her last day of filming for The Mummy Diaries

In videos she posted on Sunday night, Sam showed her kitchen ceiling covered with colourful balloons as well as a huge gold 30 marking her milestone. 

Writing that she was filming a ‘fun Zoom party,’ the star shared a glimpse of her drinks for the occasion, including gin and sparkling water, along with a cute clip of partner Paul Knightley showing off his dance skills.

Sam later revealed the party also marked the last day of filming for The Mummy Diaries’ ninth series, posting a snap of her dress for the evening along with the caption: ‘Yesterday was fun.. cyber party to finish the series.’

Party time! The former TOWIE star shared post of her loved ones, including sister Billie and her pal Luisa Zissman, all joining the video chat for her belated celebration

Preparations! Sam shared a snap of her gin and sparkling water ready to celebrate her birthday, while Billie (right) enjoyed a box of birthday-themed goodies

Party mood! She also posted a video of her kitchen completely covered with a rainbow of balloons along with an enormous 30

Billie also shared a glimpse of the celebrations on social media, posting a cute snap of her daughter Nelly in a pair of birthday-themed glasses, and a snap of the entire Shepherd clan posing by the screen with birthday girl Sam.

Sam shared an image of her loved ones on the Zoom screen as they prepared to celebrate her birthday, writing: ‘What’s going on here? Tune in this series to find out.’

The celebrations come nearly two months after Sam opted to spend her actual birthday on a sunny island in The Maldives, having jetted abroad just days after Christmas despite a ban on international travel.

Energetic: Her partner Paul Knightley also got into the party mood as he showed off his dancing skills

Get the drinks in! Proudly brandishing her drink of choice, Sam offered fans a glimpse of her delayed birthday celebrations, two months after the actual occasion

At the time the star’s home county of Surrey had been placed in Tier 4 restrictions, meaning travel was prohibited unless for essential reasons.

She was noticeably absent from Instagram during her birthday celebrations, sharing only a black and white snap with her family – an uncharacteristic move given that she documents the majority of her life online to her 2.5 million followers.

Sam’s holiday first came to light after fans began claiming they’d spotted evidence she’d been abroad to an online forum, including now-deleted comments on Paul’s Instagram post wishing his girlfriend a happy birthday.

Sam was not filming her family’s ITVBe reality show, The Mummy Diaries, during her holiday. 

Watch and see! The star hinted fans would get to see the Zoom party on the upcoming series of The Mummy Diaries, which begins on Wednesday

Cheeky: Billie revealed her daughter Nelly, six, was also getting involved in the party celebrations, donning a pair of novelty glasses

Loving it! She also shared a family snap of herself, her husband Greg Shepherd, their children Nelly and Arthur, four and Sam and Billie’s mother Suzie Wells

MailOnline understood that Sam was reminded of the rules by show bosses, as well as her responsibility to strictly adhere to COVID-19 guidelines, and warned of the possible ramifications.    

The mother-of-two, who has since returned home to the UK, failed to post any images in honour of her 30th birthday on social media. 

Sam also appeared to have blocked the words ‘holiday’ and ‘tan’ from comments on her most recent social media post to avoid accusations from her fans, although the claims could still be seen on a post shared by her mother, Suzie Wells. 

One comment said: ‘Such a shame she had to go on holiday and break the rules while there is a global pandemic, happy birthday though Samantha, I’m sure you’ll continue to go your own thing.  

Drama: The celebrations come nearly two months after Sam opted to spend her actual birthday on a sunny island in The Maldives despite Tier 4 restrictions (pictured in 2019)

Reports: The Mummy Diaries star breached the ban on international travel after spending Christmas Day in Surrey with partner Paul Knightley and their children (pictured)

Claims: Sam was noticeably absent from Instagram during her birthday celebrations in late December, sharing only a black and white snap with her family

Sam had spent Christmas Day in the UK with partner Paul and their children Paul Jnr, five, and Rosie, three, as she shared a family snap of the occasion on social media, before flying off to the Maldives. 

She returned to social media to share a family snap in honour of her birthday on December 31, sharing it in black and white in an apparent attempt to conceal her holiday tan. 

Sam then took Instagram Stories on her birthday to share a slew of tributes from her pals, and one stated: ‘Hope you’re having the best time,’ followed by a sun emoji. 

A representative for Sam declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline. MailOnline has contacted representatives for ITV for comment. 

Chatty: On Monday Sam was a guest on Loose Women to chat about The Mummy Diaries’ new series, as well as new filming restrictions on the show in accordance with Covid guidelines

On Monday Sam was also a guest on Loose Women to chat about The Mummy Diaries’ new series alongside her sister Billie.

The pair revealed that filming was able to continue despite new Covid restrictions, with use of a smaller crew and less days working on the series.

Sam said: ‘We have a small crew of two people each with hand held cameras. They’re around three to four days a week. Nine months we’ve been filming so we’ve got a little bit of a break now.’

Speaking about juggling homeschooling during the current lockdown, Billie added: ‘This time round it’s been easier. Nelly’s school have done most of it on zoom. The first time round it was really difficult. 

‘It’s such an unusual situation for the kids and I just can’t wait for them to get back to school.’

Exciting: She and her sister Billie were guests on the show to chat about the upcoming series, which begins on ITVBe on Wednesday