Rita Joanne Simons (born 10 March 1977) is an English actress, singer, and model from London. She is best known for playing Roxy Mitchell in the *** soap opera EastEnders 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. On 12 November 2018, Simons was confirmed to be participating in that year's series of I'*** Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[1] She was the fourth to be eliminated on 4 December 2018.