Hollyoaks confirms Rita Simons’ explosive debut as mother of soap icon in hour-long special episode
HOLLYOAKS has confirmed Rita Simons' explosive debut - and fans don't have long to wait.
The Channel 4 soap has released fresh details surrounding Rita's character as she makes her way to the village.
Rita, 46, will play tracksuit clad Marie, who is the mother of Joel Dexter.
She briefly appeared on screen tonight in a trailer following the show's one-hour special.
The star's storyline will see her work with Joel actor Rory Douglas-Speed as well as Jamie Lomas who plays Warren Fox.
Her arrival to Chester will make for explosive viewing with her first scene seeing the fiery blonde steal Mercedes’ red dress from the McQueen washing line.
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Speaking about joining Hollyoaks, Rita said: “Marie’s got a lot of ties
here, so I think there’s going to be quite a lot of trouble between quite a few characters, and you will just have to keep watching to see…”
Last year The Sun exclusively revealed snaps of Rita on the show's set as she received her first scripts.
She could be seen chatting with award-winning Hollyoaks casting boss Peter Hunt.
Rita is no stranger to soaps having starred in EastEnders for 10 years.
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Her character Roxy Mitchell was killed off by soap bosses back in 2017, alongside her on-screen sister Ronnie, who was played by Samantha Womack.
However, last year she made a shock return in a vision to daughter Amy Mitchell.
The actress also revealed how she had refused to film her on-screen death, and simply held her breath in the hopes of returning to the soap full time later.
Hollyoaks on Channel 4. Stream or watch live Weekdays 7pm E4.
