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Sam Womack and Rita Simons turned down ‘loads’ of joint work post-EastEnders

Sam Womack and Rita Simons turned down "a load" of joint work after departing ‘EastEnders’, because they want to "wait for something special".
The 46-year-old actress and her fellow former co-star – who played sisters Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell on the BBC One soap from 2007 until their characters’ deaths in 2017 – were inundated with offers after departing Albert Square, but Sam admits they weren’t keen to "cash in on the Mitchell sisters thing".
She said: "I will never get rid of her. We phone each other last thing at night and first thing in the morning. She feels like my actual sister.
"We were offered a load of stuff when we left ‘EastEnders’ but we want to wait for something special, otherwise we would just be cashing in on the Mitchell sisters thing."
While Sam enjoyed her time in Walford, she cannot bring herself to watch ‘EastEnders’ nowadays because it’s like checking out what an old husband is up to every week.
She said: "It was part of my life for nine years and I’ll always look back fondly on ‘EastEnders’, but I haven’t watched it in ages.
"It’s like watching your old living room and your old husband. It’s too weird."
Sam is currently starring in the theatre version of ‘The Girl on the Train’, and while she wouldn’t rule out appearing in a musical, the former ‘Babes in the Wood’ star will never become a "cheesy" soap star who drops an album.
Speaking to The Irish News, she added: "I was classically trained and a session singer before I was an actor.
"Musicals are a nice way to bring my vocals back without the cheesy thing of a soap star releasing an album."