For those of you American readers (and some British) who have no idea who Roxy Mitchell is, she is one of the main characters in one of the UK’s longest running soap operas, Eastenders.
Portrayed by Rita Simons, Roxy burst onto the soap’s setting of Albert Square in 2007 and has been a fan favourite ever since, picking up a wealth of awards along the way. But it seems that she has a popstar past, having been part of Girls@Play at the start of the millennium.
Rita joined Vicky Dowdall, Shelley Nash, Lynsey Shaw, and Lisa-Jay White in the girlband, who released two singles in 2001 and supported British bands Steps and Hear’Say on their arena tours.
Their debut single ‘Airhead’ reached number 18 in the UK singles charts in February 2001. Follow up single, a cover of Mel & Kim’s ‘Respectable’, limped to number 29 in October of the same year before the band’s split was announced the following month.
Each girl portrayed a character in both of their music videos and all performances. Rita is the mechanic if you’re checking.
Apparently, there were talks for Girls@Play to reform for TV series The Big Reunion in 2014 but nothing came of it.
Have you spotted any other celebrities with a popstar past? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter.
