EastEnders icon Rita Simons marries best friend as famous pal gives her away

Rita Simons has tied the knot in a luxury ceremony. The EastEnders actress married her best friend Ben Harlow in a romantic ceremony yesterday, attended by her famous family and friends.

Taking to social media, she shared: "Well this happened yesterday! I married my best friend @benjyharlow... Just a little teaser before I have the good stuff from @the.event.editor content creator

"I can’t even put into words how special our day was…mostly because we have the most incredible bunch of humans who love us unconditionally and who were prepared to travel to @hiddenriverbarn from all over the world to share our day. We love you all. You know who you are …sorry there’s gonna be a ton of pics to follow!"

• British comedian sparks outcry with brutal Charlie Kirk remarks
• Julia Bradbury stuns fans - and Ben Shephard - as she appears totally nude on Instagram

Rita then went on to praise her two children for being the "stars" of the day as she went on to thank her wedding planners, her dress designers and her make-up artist. There was also a special mention for the band who played at her wedding day and night.

Duncan James, from the band Blue, was also on hand for a very special job. "Thank you my darling @mrduncanjames for giving me away, I love you forever," she wrote in a sweet message to the singer.

The singer was quick to comment on her post, writing: "Thankyou to you and ben for such a wonderful wedding," alongside a string of red heart emojis. Others rushed to the comment section to congratulate Rita, including Ellie Dadd - who plays her on-screen daughter Amy Mitchell. She wrote: "Congratulations Rita and Ben."

Rita's character Roxy Mitchell was killed off alongside her sister Ronnie in huge scenes in 2017 and Rita was hopeful that her famous friends could join her to celebrate her big day.

"We're getting married in September, but I'm not going to say dates or where, but we're very excited," she said recently, "Samantha Womack will be there, and I think Larry Lamb and Glynis Barber. Larry was my dad in the show, Glynis played my mum, and Samantha was my on-screen sister, Ronnie."

Her twin daughters - Jaimee and Maiya - were her bridesmaids. The 18-year-old twins are from her previous marriage to her ex, hairdresser Theo Silveston, who she split from in 2020.

Speaking about her daughters being involved, she added: "Yes, they will. It will be a very glitzy wedding."

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Threads.