Ex EastEnders star Rita Simons lands first acting job in five years with new role
RITA Simons has landed her first acting job in five years after leaving EastEnders.
The 45-year-old, best known for playing Roxy Mitchell, stars in tonight’s episode of hit ITV drama Professor T.
Rita has taken on the role of Debbie Sanderson, staring opposite John Thomson and Juliet Stevenson.
John plays Professor Jasper Tempest, a genius Cambridge University criminologist who advises the police on cases.
Rita starred in EastEnders as Roxy Mitchell from 2007-2017.
On New Year’s Day 2017 she left the soap along with Samantha Womack, who played her sister Ronnie Mitchell.
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Their dramatic exit storyline saw the sisters drown in a swimming pool.
The following year Rita appeared in I’m A Celebrity and then went on to star in various stage productions.
Her roles have included playing Paulette Bonafonte in Legally Blonde The Musical and Miss Hedge in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
Rita shares Maiya and her twin Jaimee, both 16, with her ex Theo.
The couple were together for 14 years but split the same year Rita took part in I’m A Celeb.
She found love again with actor Ben Harlow, her co-star in a 12-month UK tour of Legally Blonde: The Musical.
She recently told The Sun: “He’s the loveliest man on the planet.
“And he looks after me. He makes sure I’ve eaten because I’m not very good at that when I’m in shows.”
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Before meeting Ben her mental health plummeted and her depression was so bad she considered throwing herself down stairs thinking she could “take a break” from everything if she was physically unwell.
She added: “There was my anxiety, depression and OCD, but in the centre of all of that there was a really sad divorce happening …
“It’s only now that I’m so happy I can look back and see I was a mess.
“But you don’t get anywhere in life without going through some s**t and I wish I could go back and tell myself it’s going to be OK. More than OK, it’s going to be great.”
