It’s must be incredibly hard moving on after spending 10 years as a much-loved soap character.
First there’s the emotional ordeal of saying good bye to all the dear friends you’ve made over the last decade. And then there’s the small matter of what do you do next?
The danger is that after being a certain character for so long that you’ll end up getting type-cast, over and over.
However that’s is one trap that the actress who played Roxy Mitchell, Rita Simons, is determined to avoid as she is aiming big for her post-EastEnders career.
She has revealed she planning to break into Hollywood and has two movie roles lined up. The 39-year-old also admitted that after more than a decade on Albert Square she’s looking forward to the next chapter of her career.
The actress told the Sunday People:
“EastEnders was a great job but it’s time to move on. I now want to do gangster roles, edgy dramas and comedy. I’m capable of doing so much.
“I can do any accent and I’m way sillier than people realise. As Roxy, I didn’t get to show all these different sides of my personality.”
She left the show with her onscreen sister Ronnie (played by Samantha Womack) after the pair dramatically drowned in a hotel pool on the day of Ronnie’s wedding.
Rita revealed that the two actresses had become such strong friends offscreen that it was a blessing that they left together. She also opened up about the emotion struggle the pair faced as their time on the soap came to an end.
She said:
“Going through the exit with Samantha was my saving grace. Because we knew what each other were going through.
“If Sam had gone and I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been far behind her. During the end of our time we were constantly in a state of swings and roundabouts.
“I would have a really bad day, just seeing all my friends on set. I would get upset knowing I would be leaving them.
“But Sam would be strong for me. Then she would be down and I would be strong for her. We speak on the phone to each other every day and we’ll go out for dinner all the time.
“She’s my best friend, there’s no way I will lose touch with her at all. We really did spend 12 hours a day, six days a week together for 10 years
“I feel like I’ve lost my arm a little bit through not being with her so much every day.”
EastEnders fans will await her next move eagerly.
