EastEnders star Rita Simons set for return to different soap six years after character was killed

dailyrecord.co.uk:

EastEnders star Rita Simons is set to make an iconic comeback to the small screen but this time she will take a leap across to another soap favourite - Hollyoaks.The 46-year-old actress, who played Roxy Mitchell, starred in the streets of Walford from 2007 to 2017 before her character was killed off.

She will dust off her scripts once more for a new role in Channel 4's long-running soap to join the Hollyoaks cast.Rita became a loveable character during her time on EastEnders, having also returned with a voice message cameo in 2019 and a cameo as a vision earlier this year.

Her new role is rumoured to stir up some drama in Chester.A source told The Sun on Sunday: “Rita’s new character will certainly ruffle feathers and is set to stir the pot. "Hollyoaks fans can expect plenty of fireworks.”It has not yet been confirmed if Rita's new role will slot into an existing Hollyoaks family unit or if she will be the start of an entirely new family on the Channel 4 soap.EastEnders fans were left gutted following her departure from the show back in 2017 when the character was killed off in a traumatic scene after drowning in a swimming pool.Her on-screen sister, Ronnie Mitchell, played by Samantha Womack, suffered the same fate when she dived in to save her while wearing her wedding dress that became waterlogged and dragged her under the water too.However, according to reports in the Mirror, Rita explained earlier this year that BBC bosses were allegedly reeling over her character being axed and admitted herself she hoped she could one day make an explosive return to the show.She said in an interview in April: “I got pulled aside a couple of days before filming the final scene by an exec, who I cannot name for legal reasons, who