EastEnders and Hollyoaks icon Rita Simons has tied the knot with West End star Ben Harlow, and an iconic pop star walked her down the aisle.
Rita and Ben first met whereas touring the UK in a manufacturing of the musical Legally Blonde, the place they performed on-stage love pursuits, with Rita starring as Paulette and Ben as Kyle.
They formally began courting in 2020, two years after Rita break up from her first husband of 14 years.
Earlier this 12 months, Rita took to social media to share information of their engagement, posting selfies to Instagram alongside Ben, exhibiting off her ring.
Now, the couple are fortunately married, after a surprising ceremony earlier this week at Hidden River Barn in Cumbria.
Taking to Instagram with a couple of snapshots of the day, Rita introduced that she had ‘married her finest pal’.
‘I can’t even put into phrases how particular our day was…largely as a result of we have now probably the most unbelievable bunch of people who love us unconditionally and who have been ready to journey to Hidden River Barn from everywhere in the world to share our day. We love you all. You know who you’re …sorry there’s gonna be a ton of pics to observe!’ She wrote alongside the put up.
She went on to present a shoutout to her two daughters, Maiya and Jaimee, in addition to a particular thanks to Duncan James.
The singer, who’s one quarter of the boyband Blue, walked the actress down the aisle, and even joined her on stage for a duet through the celebrations.
Her co-stars from EastEnders and Hollyoaks alike have been fast to share their congratulations, with on-screen daughter Amy Mitchell star Ellie Dadd writing: ‘Congratulations Rita and Ben.’
‘Congratulations stunning woman,’ Hollyoaks’ Anna Passey wrote, whereas EastEnders’ Matt Di Angelo left a sequence of affection coronary heart emojis.
Rita grew to become a distinguished determine on British TV when she took on the function of Roxy Mitchell in EastEnders in 2007.
The character was a fan favorite and was on the centre of some main storylines throughout her 9 years on Albert Square.
From having a child together with her sister’s accomplice and inheriting hundreds of thousands after their father’s homicide, to battling drug habit and surviving sexual assault, Roxy’s time in Walford had loads of highs and lows.
When the character was killed off alongside sister Ronnie Mitchell in 2017, there was uproar from viewers, with numerous followers nonetheless begging the present to deliver them again.
In 2023, viewers received their want when Rita returned for a single episode to play Roxy in emotional scenes that noticed Amy hallucinate her mum.
Since leaving EastEnders, Rita has additionally starred in Hollyoaks as Marie Fielding, although it was just lately introduced that she could be leaving the function.
‘Since Marie Fielding stepped into Hollyoaks village, she’s sufficiently tousled all her boys lives, Caused ALL the carnage and fallen off the wagon a couple of instances…so her job right here is finished!’ Rita wrote on Instagram, alongside a couple of snaps from her time on the present.
She completed off her caption by writing ‘London’s calling’, which received followers in a spin as they begged for Rita to return to EastEnders.
The actress has additionally added a brand new string to her bow, co-hosting a brand new podcast referred to as ‘They All Need Therapy’ alongside good pal Nicki Gregory.
This undertaking has seen her reunite with Ronnie Mitchell star Samantha Womack, who has additionally appeared on the podcast.
Away from work, Rita has been open about present process therapy to get her fillers dissolved, admitting that she ‘actually regretted’ them.
She has additionally shared her hysterectomy journey, revealing that it was the ‘finest choice’ she ever made, as her durations worsened her OCD and Anxiety.
Rita has additionally spoken about her ADHD analysis, revealing that it helps her to be taught strains.
‘When you’ve received ADHD, you’re both – properly, I’m, not everyone – completely distracted or hyper centered.
‘If there’s one factor I can at all times do, it’s be taught strains at lightning velocity. As quickly as I get a script, I simply absolutely [zone in], take it in, after which what I do is spotlight, after which I can see the phrases in my head. I may even flip the web page in my head, as a result of I do know the place the subsequent line ends and that one begins.’
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