Actress Samantha Womack got an emotional surprise today, when she was unexpectedly reunited with her former onscreen sister Rita Simons.
Sam, who played Ronnie Mitchell on EastEnders, was appearing as a guest on Loose Women on Friday (15 February), when Rita joined the panel to surprise her former co-star.
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The pair played Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell until their dramatic exit in 2017, and have remained close friends ever since.
And Samantha – who is currently starring in the stage production of The Girl On The Train – had no idea her mate was going to be on the show and found herself welling up at the reunion.
She confessed: “This is the only person in the world that when I look at her I cry immediately.”
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Speaking of whether they’ll ever work together again, Rita said: “It’s been two years [since we left EastEnders], and people still to this day remember when our characters died…”
Samantha added of their shock exit: “People will always talk about it.”
In fact, the pair even teased a possible spin-off, with Rita saying: “There’s been quite a lot of talk about stuff for us to do together. We just want to…”
Samantha finished: “Wait for the right thing.”
They are so close, they even finish each other’s sentences!
Rita went on to say that the “chemistry they have” is “so special”.
Samantha revealed that they HAVE been offered things, but they’ve been “too obvious”.
In the past, the pair have made no secret of the fact they were unhappy about being killed off, and Samantha told the Loose Women panel: “I do [feel sad] about how we left.”
Rita added: “The amount of times I’ve read ‘I’m desperate to come back’. I’m alright actually. I’m having a nice time. But we were devastated to kill our characters.”
Samantha agreed: “We didn’t want them to die.”
Their characters were killed off in a dramatic New Year episode that saw them both drown in a hotel swimming pool on Ronnie’s wedding day.
Ronnie & Roxy reunited on #LooseWomen and yep, you bet I'm crying right now!
— Victoria (@badkidvictoria) February 15, 2019
Ahhhhh Roxy and Ronnie are reunited omg #LooseWomen
— ⚓️ ASHLEY ⚓️ (@bramwell_ashley) February 15, 2019
#LooseWomen Roxy and Ronnie reunited, Rita and Sam would be great as private detectives in a honey trap agency #plottwist #eastenders @RitaSimonsWorld @SamanthaWomack
— Jane Williams (@Mrs_JAWilliams) February 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/ToniLouOC/status/1096395248849379328
Aww they have reunited Sam and Rita on #LooseWomen so cute! But so weird seeing them together on and interview!
— Lauren (@LaurenLongwith) February 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/atugatar/status/1096395930365059072
Fans watching at home were equally as emotional to see the pair reunited on screen, with one saying: “Ronnie & Roxy reunited on #LooseWomen and yep, you bet I’m crying right now!”
One had a great idea for a show, tweeting: “#LooseWomen Roxy and Ronnie reunited, Rita and Sam would be great as private detectives in a honey trap agency #plottwist #eastenders @RitaSimonsWorld @SamanthaWomack.”
However one viewer wasn’t so keen, typing: “#LooseWomen Ronnie & Roxy spin off? Please don’t give @bbceastenders ideas they’re struggling to come up with plausible storylines as it is.”
Would you like to see Rita and Sam reunited on screen? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!