Hollyoaks star Rita Simons has responded to the theory that she could return to EastEnders in the future. Her Hollyoaks character Marie Fielding is set to leave the village in upcoming scenes, with a dramatic exit story promised, but might we ever see Roxy Mitchell again?

In June, Rita confirmed that she would soon be leaving Hollyoaks, after making her first appearance in the soap back in March 2024.

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy on the red carpet of Hollyoaks’ 30th birthday party at St George’s Hall in Liverpool this week, Rita explained why she made the difficult decision to leave the show.

“It wasn’t an easy choice to make,” she admitted. “I [previously] thought that my kids are older so it’s easier to do jobs away, now they’re at uni – but my heart was still in London.

“I spend so much time up and down the motorway and I just thought, I need to go home. So it was really hard, but I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do, and I feel so much happier knowing that I’ll be back in London. I’m a girl from London!”

When the announcement was made, fans naturally began to speculate that her return to London might mean that she could also be making a return to Walford.

Rita’s EastEnders character Roxy Mitchell was killed off alongside her sister Ronnie in 2017, but as anything can happen in soapland, viewers are keen for the iconic duo to be resurrected.

In our red carpet chat, Rita responded to these continued rumours and said: “Do you know what? If I go to the toilet, everyone says I’m going back to EastEnders. If I blink, everyone says I’m going back to EastEnders.

“So, I’ll say what I always say – never say never, who knows? Stranger things have happened, people have risen from the dead, so you never know.”

There’s more drama to come for Marie before she leaves Hollyoaks though, and she plays a key role in this week’s special anniversary episodes.

At Tony and Diane’s wedding, Darren exposed the truth that Tony is Morgan’s biological father – and Marie used the opportunity to add fuel to the fire and reveal that she is pregnant with Tony’s child.

With the community already in chaos, the damaged plane carrying Clare and Jez is hurtling towards the village…