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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Katherine Heslop

EastEnders' Rita Simons breaks silence ahead of Roxy Mitchell's return to soap

EastEnders icon Rita Simmons has teased her return on the soap this evening, sending her famous friends and fans wild.

Roxy was shockingly killed off in devastating scenes in January 2017, alongside her sister Ronnie Mitchell, but she will appear as a figment of her daughter Amy's imagination.

The actor, 46, shared a photo on Instagram of herself as Roxie wearing a black blazer, pink shirt and jeans, and wrote: "Guess who's swinging by tomorrow night?!"

Soap star Danielle Harold, who plays Lola Pearce, wrote in response: "Yaaaaaaayyy."

Former TOWIE cast member Bobby Norris wrote: Shut up?!?! Yes Girl."

Emma Barton, who plays Honey Mitchell, simply posted four love heart emojis.

Roxie and Ronnie died in 2017 after Ronnie's wedding (BBC/Jack Barnes)

Ronnie and Roxie's deaths sparked a major backlash with viewers who slammed the soap for killing the pair off, instead of leaving the door open for a future return. Ronnie drowned in her wedding dress while trying to save her sister.

Roxy had dived into a pool at Ronnie's wedding venue, but as she hit the water she suffered a heart attack - thought to be a result of her taking drugs.

Six years on and fans have been desperate for a twist to see the sisters return, calling their exits the soap's biggest ever mistake.

Rita Simmons makes a brief return as Roxie after six years away (rita_simonsofficial/Instagram)

Show bosses have seemingly listened to fans, as Roxy will make a brief comeback as part of daughter Amy Mitchell's latest storyline.

The teenager has been struggling with self-harming for months after taunts at school last year.

Amy has really struggled, especially recently, with not having her mother around and has often shared her grief for her late mum.

It's all got too much for Amy recently with her losing control again, and in scenes on Thursday night her mother makes an appearance as she looks to her mother once more for help, during a group therapy session.

Roxie is seen by her daughter Amy Mitchell amid her struggles (BBC)

Amy is encouraged to open up about her emotions surrounding the loss of her mum, and Roxy appears as a figment of her imagination.

Speaking about the moment, Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw revealed: "I’m thrilled to welcome the fabulous Rita back to the iconic role of Roxy Mitchell for these special scenes.

"Although the character was last seen on-screen in January 2017, Roxy still remains a fan favourite. We know our audiences will be thrilled at her short return as Amy seeks some all-important answers from her mum at this point in the storyline."

So keen are fans to see Roxy back full time, they have written scripts which imagine her being brought back from the dead.

Rita has said previously: “Yeah, I get it every day. I get scripts sent to me of ideas of how to come back from fans. Fans send me scripts that they’ve written. It has not stopped in six years.”

“If you see some of the scripts I’ve seen, I mean, who knows?” she said, in a comment that will excite EastEnders fans.

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