Rita Simons announces engagement to Ben Harlow

The 47-year-old actress - who has been dating the producer since 2020 - has taken to social media to announce her engagement and to show off her sparkling engagement ring.

Alongside a loved-up image of Ben and Rita together, the actress wrote on Instagram: "….so this happened! [ring emojis] @benjyharlow [heart emojis] (sic)"

Rita - who is best known for playing Roxy Mitchell on the BBC soap - has already been inundated with congratulatory messages from some of her showbiz pals.

'Hollyoaks' star Stephanie Waring said: "Congratulations to you both!"

Elsewhere, Blue singer Duncan James has also offered his congratulations to the couple.

The 46-year-old pop star wrote: "Love u so much! Congrats to the both of u! Jadore !! (sic)"

Meanwhile, TV star Lisa Snowdon simply replied: "Ahhhh congratulations (sic)"

Rita was married to Theo Silveston between 2004 and 2018, and the actress previously admitted that their break-up was "rough".

Rita also revealed that she's now in a much better place with Ben.

She told Closer magazine: "It's no secret that I've been through a rough few years. 

"I got divorced and had my breakdowns, but now I'm in the most wonderful place outside of work that I have been in years! 

"It was a deep sadness, I'd say a depression. I couldn't see the wood for the trees. It was all kind of lumped into one big mess and I was very ill a lot of the time."

Rita observed that regular exercise has helped to improve her mood, too.

She shared: "I'm a massive walker. I also train every day and I've got a gym at home so I'm pretty hardcore. I'm feeling good and exercise is definitely a part of that."