EastEnders EastEnders' Rita: 'Roxy loses Amy!'

EastEnders' Rita Simons tells Soaplife of Roxy's heartbreak when she's forced to give up Amy - to lying dad Jack!

Being a single mum is never easy - and losing her best friend and big sister Ronnie has made things even tougher for Roxy. "She misses Ronnie a lot. She's been spending a lot of time on her own with Amy watching In The Night Garden," says Rita. So when Daddy Jack finally steps up and offers to take a turn with Amy, Roxy's off out like a shot. Then she wakes up the next morning and her worst nightmare begins...

So at first Roxy is grateful when Jack agrees to have Amy for the night?
"She's really thrilled. She's desperate for a night out and wants to let her hair down."

How does Ben end up babysitting?
"Ben's depressed and comes round to see Roxy. She's waiting for Jack to arrive and Kim and Christian are saying, 'Let's go, let's go', and Ben offers to watch Amy till Jack turns up."

And Roxy thinks this is a good idea?
"She lets him look after Amy, but with a certain amount of trepidation. He is family, though, he's 15 years old and Amy is three. He should be able to watch her for the 10 minutes it will take for Jack to arrive."

But he isn't, is he?
"After Roxy's gone, Ben invites Jay over and they go down to Jack's flat, leaving Amy upstairs alone. Amy fills up the bath for her doll and falls in! The boys find her face down in the water and call an ambulance. She's nearly drowned and in a bad way."

Does anyone call Roxy?
"Jack tries, but she's gone to the West End and her phone's died. The first she knows of Amy's terrible accident is in the morning when she finds all of Jack's messages. She rushes to the hospital and Carol blurts out they're waiting to find out if there's been any lasting damage."

Then Social Services turn up...
"The social worker mentions Amy has a fractured arm that hasn't been treated. Roxy explains Amy had a fall a few days earlier, but she had seemed fine."

But that's not the way Social Services view it - or Jack...
"He tells them all about Roxy's violent family and the next thing Roxy knows the social worker is suggesting Roxy gives Jack voluntary residency of Amy. She's told if she doesn't then she'll go to court."

So Jack basically takes Amy away from Roxy?
"Yes and she's devastated. She goes to say goodbye to Amy, but Jack won't even let her see her. Roxy becomes hysterical and has to be held back by Christian and two security men. It's heartbreaking."

Will Roxy just give in or fight to get her little girl back?
"She'll fight. She loves Amy more than anything and won't give up. She has to be careful, though, as she doesn't want to look like the person Jack is making her out to be."