Rita Simons is back on our TV screens as Hollyoaks’ Marie Fielding, but the most recent instalment of ITV reality series Drama Queens saw her reflect on her time playing the feisty Roxy Mitchell in EastEnders.
While digging through some of her old possessions, Rita pulled out an enormous poster promoting Roxy’s arrival in the Square, alongside sister Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack).
‘We nicked this off of a bus stop!’ Rita confessed, revealing how she came to own the poster. Hilarious.
She also pulled out a black dress that would surely strike fear into Ronnie and Roxy fans everywhere, explaining to boyfriend Ben that it was the dress Roxy had died in.
Viewers will remember the shocking scenes that saw Ronnie and Roxy drown together in a swimming pool, following Ronnie’s wedding to Jack Branning (Scott Maslen).
We’ve literally never been the same since.
Prior to her death, Roxy had countless storylines. Talking about everything that Roxy had been through on the show, Rita admitted that there was ‘nothing’ she hadn’t done.
‘I was on EastEnders for ten years, and I got up to a lot!’ She said.
‘I got married a few times, I had a baby with my sister’s husband. I had my dad die and was left the Vic, and then I became the landlady of the Vic! I had to tell Barbara Windsor to “get out of my pub”. I’ve even had nits!
‘There is literally nothing I haven’t done on a soap!’
She went on to reflect on working with show legends like Barbara, as well as Steve McFadden and June Brown, and revealed that they helped her to ‘learn her craft’.
And, of course, no trip down memory lane would be complete without an impression or two, and Rita didn’t shy away from giving it her best Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).
Later in the episode, viewers saw Rita get stuck in as she filmed alongside the Hollyoaks cast in her new role.
Since her arrival in the Hollyoaks village, Marie has been reunited with her missing son, bedded Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) and made an enemy of Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe).
It’s safe to say that Marie’s life looks set to be just as dramatic as Roxy’s!
