Rita Simons

Rita Joanne Simons (born 10 March 1977) is an English actress and singer. After beginning her career as a member of the short-lived girl group Girls@Play, she became best known for playing Roxy Mitchell in the BBCsoap operaEastEnders from 2007 to 2017, when her character was killed off, alongside her on-screen character's sister Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack). For her performance on the show Simons received many accolades, including the 2008 National Television Award for "Most Popular Newcomer".

Outside of EastEnders, Simons has appeared as contestant on the eighteenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and has appeared in various theatre productions. Between 2024 and 2025, she portrayed Marie Fielding in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.