Rita Simons refused to get in a coffin when her character left 'EastEnders'.
Rita Simons refused to get in a coffin when her EastEnders character was killed off
The 47-year-old actress - who now stars as Marie Fielding in Channel 4's 'Hollyoaks' - had played Roxy Mitchell on the BBC soap opera for a decade when she and her on-screen sister Ronnie (Samantha Womack) were supposedly killed off in 2017 but when asked about a possible comeback, mentioned a series of other characters who had come back from the dead.
Speaking on ITV's 'Good Morning Britain', she said: "Listen, [there] was Dirty Den's return, Michelle [Collins] as Cindy...I think in soap when you get asked to go in a coffin, you say no. I did!
"The thing is we're at 'Hollyoaks' now and I have to say, it's gorgeous, it's like coming home but just up north. I know how soap works, I know the system. I'm so comfortable there. So, for now, I love where I am."
Roxy drowned in a swimming pool alongside her sister but in 2023, she made an appearance as her daughter's hallucination in 2023.
The former 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!' star - who since leaving 'EastEnders' has also carved out a successful career in musical theatre with roles in 'Hairspray' and 'Legally Blonde' - also explained that she "wasn't sure" she wanted to join 'Hollyoaks' or the new reality show 'Drama Queens' because it meant a big relocation but that it was her children who persuaded her to go for it.
Rita - who has 17-year-old twins Maiya and Jaimee with husband Theo Silveston - said: "We had to move from London to Liverpool in order for this to work and I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it because of the kids but they were like 'Mum, we're leaving school in three months - go!'"
Tagged in Michelle Collins Rita Simons Samantha Womack