'Enders star excited over Roxy, Michael future

EastEnders star Rita Simons has revealed that she is excited to see where the soap's team take her character's new relationship with Michael Moon.

The actress's alter ego Roxy Mitchell has been dating Michael (Steve John Shepherd) for a few weeks, unaware of the darker side that he showed in his encounters with her troubled sister Ronnie before she went to jail.

Roxy's new romance has begun following the loss of other characters that she was connected to on the Square, including dad Archie (Larry Lamb) and mum Glenda (Glynis Barber). Ronnie, played by Samantha Womack, is also due to leave Walford later this year.

Speaking to Digital Spy about where the cast departures leave Roxy's character, Simons commented: "Well, luckily we've had the arrival of Michael Moon, who Roxy is now with, and I'm loving working with Steve John Shepherd because he's a brilliant actor. So it's nice for me to have a bit of variety.

"It's always nice to have variety as an actress, but now that everyone's leaving, the character has no choice but to interact with other people. So far, I've had such great stuff with Steve that you haven't seen on screen yet, and I'm really looking forward to seeing where else it's going to go."

EastEnders' executive producer Bryan Kirkwood recently hinted that Roxy's relationship with Michael could prove to be a destructive one, comparing her new love interest to the villainous Archie.

Asked if she has also noticed a similarity between the two characters, Simons replied: "Yeah! But I don't think that Roxy is aware that he's so much like Archie at the moment. She doesn't quite know why she likes him, but she definitely does enjoy being in a relationship with him.

"I think it's the most interested that Roxy has been in someone since Sean. Roxy isn't quite sure what it is about Michael that makes her like him, but as Rita, I'm sure that it's because he reminds her of her dad."

> Read our full interview with EastEnders star Rita Simons