alan45
28-11-2010, 00:54
AS foxy Roxy Mitchell, shes used to chatting up flirty punters, squeezing her sexy curves into clinging tops and painting the town red.
But real life isnt quite so racy for Rita Simons, who plays the straight-talking EastEnder.
For Rita, 33, has swapped boozy all-nighters for family dinners with hubby Theo and their four-year-old twins Jaimee and Maiya followed by bed at 10.
She said: I'm the most boring cow you've ever met.
An exciting night for me these days is cooking a lamb burger and snuggling up with my husband to watch The Apprentice.
Ive put the party girl away and I don't think shell reappear for a very long time.
She admits she used to stay out all night clubbing.
But Rita who was shopping for dog food as we chatted during a break in filming in Elstree, Herts joked she cant do it anymore.
I cant take the hangovers I really feel my age now.
I spend most days squeezing into outfits that are far too young for me as Roxy.
The foxy Roxy tag makes me laugh I'm way too old for all that.
Unlike Roxy, Ive grown up. I'm a mum first and foremost.
But balancing family life with starring in one of our best-loved shows isn't easy.
She said: I started on EastEnders three and a half years ago when the twins were babies and I had a really hard time of it.
Along came this dream job and I couldn't turn it down.
It was my ambition to be in EastEnders but I had to learn how to juggle family life with work.
The hardest thing was learning how to get home and switch off so I could devote time to the family.
Theos so supportive. He knows what its like to be busy because he runs a hectic hair salon in fact he gave me my new short bob.
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/people3/nov2010/7/2/roxy-image-3-335289770.jpg
Partying: Out with Theo last year
Rita added: It was very tiring for a long time with twin babies and the filming schedules. But I coped I wasn't going to let it beat me.
I took up meditation and I now make sure I get 10 minutes to myself so I can switch off.
Not that Rita would change anything. Shes passionate about EastEnders and has been involved in some of its biggest storylines, including a violent clash with Kat (Jessie Wallace) this month.
She said: I absolutely love it. It works so well for me.
The studios are near my house and Roxy is great fun to play.
But Rita is keen for her part to become more dramatic. She said: I hope next year the producers give Roxy some heartbreak.
As an actress I want her to have a bit more depth and grow up. Shes such a moody cow.
I've heard rumours she may get a love interest next year.
I just hope its a man not that I will tell Theo. He hates seeing me kiss people on screen so I don't tell him. In fact Theo hardly has time to watch EastEnders.
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/people3/nov2010/0/5/roxy-image-1-325303045.jpg
Katfight: Clashing with Jessie in Eastenders
Next week sees Rita take a break from the Square to star in BBC3s Beyond Walford, which features her working in a real East End pub The Birdcage in Shoreditch to mimic her TV role as a barmaid.
She said: It was hard because I was horribly ill during filming.
I had a chest infection and a really high temperature.
My body thought it was time for a rest because I was taking a break from EastEnders and every time I do that I get ill.
It was horrendous. I didn't even mind the drunks because all I could think about was how ill I was. I felt like I was at deaths door.
I didnt get any sleep because I felt so awful and then I was off to the pub for a 12-hour shift. But I didn't want to give up.
But being away from the BBC1 soap gave Rita who once sang in a group called Girls@Play a taste for spreading her wings.
She said: Id love to be a judge on a talent show. I used to be in a pop band so I think I have the skills. Its nice to have a new challenge but Id only do it if I had to leave EastEnders.
Rita was close to her screen aunt Barbara Windsor and admitted the cast hadn't got over her departure.
She said: With some people, you hear they are leaving and think it will make a big difference yet everything carries on and you soon forget about it.
But with Barbara I feel lost. She was the matriarch of the cast and no one can fill that gap there can only be one Barbara.
I recently had dinner with her and tried to convince her to come back but shes so busy doing other stuff.
Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater) leaves soon as well shell go on to conquer the world shes so talented.
Meanwhile, Rita is hooked on The Apprentice because Alan Sugar is her uncle.
She said: He wont tell me what is going on but its the one show Theo and I watch every week.
And shes focusing on giving her twins a special Christmas.
She said: I cant wait to get time off over Christmas.
I'm excited about making decorations with the kids and leaving out milk and cookies for Santa.
In the past, Christmas was a chance for me and my friends to have a knees-up but I have no interest in festive bashes now.
The family are all coming over to our house so Im going to surround myself with people I love and enjoy it before I go back to the grindstone with EastEnders.
And as a Mitchell, Rita definitely understands the importance of faaahmily.
But real life isnt quite so racy for Rita Simons, who plays the straight-talking EastEnder.
For Rita, 33, has swapped boozy all-nighters for family dinners with hubby Theo and their four-year-old twins Jaimee and Maiya followed by bed at 10.
She said: I'm the most boring cow you've ever met.
An exciting night for me these days is cooking a lamb burger and snuggling up with my husband to watch The Apprentice.
Ive put the party girl away and I don't think shell reappear for a very long time.
She admits she used to stay out all night clubbing.
But Rita who was shopping for dog food as we chatted during a break in filming in Elstree, Herts joked she cant do it anymore.
I cant take the hangovers I really feel my age now.
I spend most days squeezing into outfits that are far too young for me as Roxy.
The foxy Roxy tag makes me laugh I'm way too old for all that.
Unlike Roxy, Ive grown up. I'm a mum first and foremost.
But balancing family life with starring in one of our best-loved shows isn't easy.
She said: I started on EastEnders three and a half years ago when the twins were babies and I had a really hard time of it.
Along came this dream job and I couldn't turn it down.
It was my ambition to be in EastEnders but I had to learn how to juggle family life with work.
The hardest thing was learning how to get home and switch off so I could devote time to the family.
Theos so supportive. He knows what its like to be busy because he runs a hectic hair salon in fact he gave me my new short bob.
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/people3/nov2010/7/2/roxy-image-3-335289770.jpg
Partying: Out with Theo last year
Rita added: It was very tiring for a long time with twin babies and the filming schedules. But I coped I wasn't going to let it beat me.
I took up meditation and I now make sure I get 10 minutes to myself so I can switch off.
Not that Rita would change anything. Shes passionate about EastEnders and has been involved in some of its biggest storylines, including a violent clash with Kat (Jessie Wallace) this month.
She said: I absolutely love it. It works so well for me.
The studios are near my house and Roxy is great fun to play.
But Rita is keen for her part to become more dramatic. She said: I hope next year the producers give Roxy some heartbreak.
As an actress I want her to have a bit more depth and grow up. Shes such a moody cow.
I've heard rumours she may get a love interest next year.
I just hope its a man not that I will tell Theo. He hates seeing me kiss people on screen so I don't tell him. In fact Theo hardly has time to watch EastEnders.
http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/people3/nov2010/0/5/roxy-image-1-325303045.jpg
Katfight: Clashing with Jessie in Eastenders
Next week sees Rita take a break from the Square to star in BBC3s Beyond Walford, which features her working in a real East End pub The Birdcage in Shoreditch to mimic her TV role as a barmaid.
She said: It was hard because I was horribly ill during filming.
I had a chest infection and a really high temperature.
My body thought it was time for a rest because I was taking a break from EastEnders and every time I do that I get ill.
It was horrendous. I didn't even mind the drunks because all I could think about was how ill I was. I felt like I was at deaths door.
I didnt get any sleep because I felt so awful and then I was off to the pub for a 12-hour shift. But I didn't want to give up.
But being away from the BBC1 soap gave Rita who once sang in a group called Girls@Play a taste for spreading her wings.
She said: Id love to be a judge on a talent show. I used to be in a pop band so I think I have the skills. Its nice to have a new challenge but Id only do it if I had to leave EastEnders.
Rita was close to her screen aunt Barbara Windsor and admitted the cast hadn't got over her departure.
She said: With some people, you hear they are leaving and think it will make a big difference yet everything carries on and you soon forget about it.
But with Barbara I feel lost. She was the matriarch of the cast and no one can fill that gap there can only be one Barbara.
I recently had dinner with her and tried to convince her to come back but shes so busy doing other stuff.
Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater) leaves soon as well shell go on to conquer the world shes so talented.
Meanwhile, Rita is hooked on The Apprentice because Alan Sugar is her uncle.
She said: He wont tell me what is going on but its the one show Theo and I watch every week.
And shes focusing on giving her twins a special Christmas.
She said: I cant wait to get time off over Christmas.
I'm excited about making decorations with the kids and leaving out milk and cookies for Santa.
In the past, Christmas was a chance for me and my friends to have a knees-up but I have no interest in festive bashes now.
The family are all coming over to our house so Im going to surround myself with people I love and enjoy it before I go back to the grindstone with EastEnders.
And as a Mitchell, Rita definitely understands the importance of faaahmily.