Former EastEnder Rita Simons returns to the Canterbury stage, after her appearance in panto two years ago, in the all-singing, all-dancing comedy musical Legally Blonde.

The new production of the Reese Witherspoon film, which sees college sweetheart and homecoming queen Elle Woods triumph in the court room, also stars Bill Ward (Coronation Street and Emmerdale), and 2009 The X-Factor finalist and UK Eurovision star from last year, Lucie Jones.

Elle is the kind of person won’t take “no” for an answer.

So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more serious, she puts down the credit card, hits the books and heads for Harvard Law School – without so much as smudging her nail varnish.

Legally Blonde: The Musical notched up seven Tony nominations during its Broadway run, while in the UK it was nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards.

Rita, who appeared as Roxy Mitchell in the BBC soap from 2007 to 2017, plays Paulette.

As well as its human stars, the show has two scene-stealing dogs: a Chihuahua called Bruiser, and Rufus, a big, brutish, dog that only its mother could love.

Bruiser is a permanent member of the tour, but each venue casts its own Rufus: at the Marlowe, it is Ronnie the bulldog, of Canterbury.

Legally Blonde: The Musical is at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury from Monday, March 19 to Saturday, March 24. To book tickets from £11.75 call 01227 787787 or visit marlowetheatre.com Some shows are sold out, however.