What happened to Roxy Mitchell in EastEnders?

The beloved character returned for a special cameo on Thursday 27th April 2023 as part of the storyline concerning her daughter Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) and her struggles with mental illness.

Actress Rita Simons returned to film the scenes especially, having last appeared on-screen in January 2017 but had a voice cameo in May 2019.

So, what happened to Roxy Mitchell and why did actress Rita Simons leave EastEnders?

What happened to Roxy Mitchell in EastEnders?

Roxy Mitchell died on New Year's Day 2017 alongside her sister Ronnie Mitchell.

Following the news that Ronnie would be moving to Ongar with her husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), Ronnie's son Matthew Cotton, Jack's son Ricky Mitchell, and Amy, Roxy continued on her own downward spiral, abusing drugs and drinking heavily.

After making a spectacle of herself at a New Year's Eve party, Roxy called her mother Glenda Mitchell (Glynis Barber) and half-brother Danny Mitchell (Liam Bergin) to pick her up.

Initially reluctant to go to Ronnie and Jack's wedding, Roxy reconciled with her sister and encouraged her to be honest about her hopes for Roxy to move to Ongar with them.

Eventually, Ronnie came clean to Jack and he agreed for Roxy to move with them and the couple married and partied the night away with their loved ones.

After drinking heavily during the partying, Roxy and Ronnie headed to a closed swimming pool and Roxy jumped into the pool but never resurfaced.

A panicked Ronnie jumped into the pool with her wedding dress on to save her sister but became weighed down and drowned alongside her.

The post-mortem revealed that Roxy died of a heart attack brought on by hitting the cold water of the pool and the sisters' cause of death was ruled as misadventure.

Jack blamed Roxy's cocaine habit for her death and also blamed her for the death of Ronnie.

Who was Roxy Mitchell married to?

Roxy Mitchell married twice in EastEnders.

In 2008, Roxy married Walford's bad boy Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky) after believing he was the father of her unborn child, Amy.

The pair had a passionate relationship which came crashing down when Amy's true paternity was exposed, resulting in Sean kidnapping her before almost drowning alongside Roxy in an icy lake. Sean later disappeared.

When Sean returned in 2019, he discovered that Roxy was dead from Jack and fought him by the sisters' graves and also contemplated suicide to join his beloved Roxy but was stopped by his mother Jean Slater (Gillian Wright).

Later, Roxy went on to marry pub landlord Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) in 2013 but on the wedding day realised that he still loved his ex-wife Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), prompting her to end their brief marriage.

Roxy was also engaged on three occasions - to Damien (James Hiller), market inspector Aleks Shriovs (Kristian Kiehling), and the villainous Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo).

She also slept with both of Ronnie's husbands, Jack Branning and Charlie Cotton (Declan Bennett).

How many children did Roxy Mitchell have?

Roxy Mitchell only had one child in the form of a daughter Amy Mitchell, now played by Ellie Dadd.

Amy was the result of a one-night stand that Roxy had with Jack Branning, her sister Ronnie's one true love.

Despite the explosive fallout to the reveal - which ended Roxy's marriage to Sean Slater - the sisters reconciled.

Why did actress Rita Simons leave EastEnders?

Actress Rita Simons was axed from the cast of EastEnders alongside her co-star Samantha Womack in 2016 by then-new executive producer Sean O'Connor.

Speaking to Metro in 2017, O'Connor explained why he chose to kill off the Mitchell Sisters, stating: "When Ronnie and Roxy burst onto the Square all those years ago, they were amazing. A real breath of fresh air – and great soap characters. But as they were so popular they were given a huge amount of plot. By the time I arrived, the characters were exhausted. Ronnie became essentially a tragic character. Can you really see Ronnie popping in to the Minute Mart for a pint of milk after sobbing her heart out after the death of yet another child? But we can with a character like Stacey, who as a character, has had time to rest between her big dramatic stories."

Simons and Womack have both been frank about their dismay at the manner of their exits from the soap, with the former particularly critical of the lack of grief displayed towards Roxy in particular.

Following the character's death, Simons tweeted: "Don't watch Enders anymore so forgive me if I'm misinformed. But from what I hear..is ANYONE mourning Roxy on the square? Poor cow [crying emoji]".

Earlier this year, Simons told RadioTimes.com that fans still hold out hope for Ronnie and Roxy returning.

Simons commented: "To this day, I will get – whether it's tweets, whether it's someone in the street, whether it's someone on Instagram, whether it's a parent of a school – not that I go to school anymore: 'Why did they kill you? Why did they kill you? I stopped watching. Come back, come back. Come on. If they can do it with [Dallas character] Bobby Ewing, they could do it with you.'

"Yeah, I get it every day. I get scripts sent to me of ideas of how to come back from fans. Fans send me scripts that they've written. It has not stopped in six years."

As for whether Roxy can be revived, she said: "If you see some of the scripts I've seen, I mean, who knows? I can't say any more than that. The whole cliché of 'never say never', I don't know."

Speaking to The Sun on Wednesday (26th April 2023), Simons revealed that she filmed her exit scenes as if Roxy was holding her breath in the swimming pool and also refused to film a scene as a dead body or in a coffin.

"I didn’t let anyone film me jump in the pool, so no one see me 'drown', I didn’t do anything but hold my breath and stay absolutely still. That is all I did which you can see.

"They must have thought I was insane, like why was I doing it?

"But in my head I was filming a very different scene to the one that the public think they saw or what they think they filmed."

Could we see Roxy back again?

EastEnders airs on Mondays to Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

Read More

• EastEnders to mark King Charles III's coronation with special episode
• EastEnders announces return for classic character Duncan Boyd
• EastEnders' James Farrar says Zack faces "painful" reactions to his HIV diagnosis
• EastEnders' Danielle Harold pays tribute to Lola's story
• EastEnders' Sharon and Keanu can "prevail", hints Letitia Dean
• EastEnders airs emotive scenes as Zack tells pub about HIV diagnosis
• EastEnders announces Cheryl Baker cameo for Eurovision special

Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.