Patsy Palmer
Encyclopedia
Patsy Palmer is an English
actress. Palmer made an early television appearance on the children's drama show Grange Hill
, but is best known for playing Bianca Jackson
in the popular British television
soap opera
EastEnders
. Originally in the cast from 1993–1999, Palmer returned to EastEnders in April 2008. She has also appeared in a number of TV dramas, and released an autobiography
, All of Me, in 2007. She lives with her husband and four children in Brighton
, East Sussex, UK.
, East London
. She attended Columbia Primary School and then Haggerston Girls Secondary School.
She was brought up along with her two elder brothers, Albert and Harry, by her mother Pat. It was her mother who first spotted her acting talent and encouraged her to go to Anna Scher's
famous acting school in London (where many other EastEnders stars such as Sid Owen
, Gillian Taylforth
, Susan Tully
, Phil Daniels
, Jake Wood
and Adam Woodyatt
also trained). Palmer was bullied at school, and has said that acting was a form of escape.
Aged six she starred in a West End
production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
.
in 1984. Like many other EastEnders actors, Palmer appeared on the children's drama show Grange Hill
in 1986 and 1987. She went on to have small roles in BBC's Tricky Business
(1989), Making News
(1990), Clarissa
(1991), Love Hurts (1992), Drop the Dead Donkey
(1993), and The Bill
(1993), and she also appeared as an acne
-ridden teenager in a Clearasil
advert.
in BBC's flagship soap opera, EastEnders. A popular character, Bianca's on-off romance with Ricky Butcher
(Sid Owen) captivated millions of fans and their on-screen marriage in 1997 drew one of the biggest soap audiences ever — more than 22 million. She remained in the role for six years, but quit in 1999 to spend more time with her family and to concentrate on other projects. She reprised the role in May 2002 in a special spin-off entitled, EastEnders: Ricky and Bianca. The two-part, hour-long special was filmed in Manchester
and reunited Bianca and Ricky for the first time in over two years.
In 2005, Palmer publicly criticised EastEnders, branding the storylines ridiculous and unbelievable and stating that she "wouldn't go back to EastEnders". However, in October 2007 the BBC announced that Palmer would be returning to the soap as a fulltime character; she made her comeback on-screen in April 2008. Palmer has commented "I can't wait to explore what Bianca has been doing with her life and seeing what she is going to get up to next" and executive producer of EastEnders, Diederick Santer
, added, "I'm delighted to welcome Patsy Palmer home to EastEnders. Bianca is one of the most popular characters the show has ever had".
introducing 'No Limit' by 2 Unlimited
with presenter Mark Franklin.
Palmer worked on the first series of OK TV with Fiona Phillips
in 1999. In the first episode of the series she was shown at a beauty salon where she got her hair shampooed and interviewed Lindsay Coulson, who played her fictional mother Carol Jackson
in EastEnders
. In 1999, Palmer made a cameo appearance as herself in an episode of Kathy Burke
's sitcom, Gimme Gimme Gimme; it made light of her role as Bianca Jackson. She appeared as Clare in the detective
series McCready and Daughter, which aired for a pilot and one series between 2000 and 2001. She made an appearance in He Knew He Was Right
for the BBC
in 2004, and in 2001 she was seen in the television mini-series Do or Die, which aired on Sky One
.
On stage she has starred in the one-woman musical Tell Me On A Sunday
, which toured the UK, and played in London's West End
. She also had a leading role in a UK tour of the musical Steppin' Out
, appeared in the original West End run of Mum's the Word, and acted in We Happy Few
by Imogen Stubbs
, which played a short run at the Gielgud Theatre
.
Palmer stood in for GMTV
s Lorraine Kelly
, presenting her Lorraine Live section for a week in 1999, reporting from Miami on fashion, lifestyle, health and fitness. She has also co-hosted Channel 4
's Big Breakfast as a guest presenter for a week. Palmer has released a number of hit fitness videos and DVDs: Patsy Palmer - The Club Workout (2000), Patsy Palmer - The Urban Workout (2002) and Patsy Palmer's Ibiza Workout (2002). In 2006 Palmer made an appearance in the charity fitness DVD
The Allstar Workout. Palmer's film work includes the shorts Love Story (1999) directed by Nick Love
, and Another Green World (2005) directed by Peter Chipping.
In 2005 Palmer took part in BBC's Strictly Come Dancing
show, to raise money for the Children in Need
fund. She has also made a cameo appearance
with Catherine Tate
's sketch show The Catherine Tate Show
. In February 2007, she was a jury member on the BBC programme The Verdict
where various celebrities ruled on a contemporary and controversial case, based on evidence and examples from real life.
Palmer's autobiography All of Me was released in the UK on 5 April 2007. In it she describes her ascent to fame, her struggle with addiction and how she has battled to overcome her problems. In addition to acting, Palmer has set up her own company, "Palmer Cutler", with a friend, selling beauty and self-tanning products.
In 2008 a short film starring Palmer was released by housing and homelessness charity Shelter
.
Palmer appeared in Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2009. Her team (Ruby Wax
, Fiona Phillips
, Carol Vorderman
, and team leader Michelle Mone
) had won the show despite Palmer having difficulties working with Mone and nearly quitting as a result.
Palmer narrated the tribute show Jade: As Seen on TV in May 2009 celebrating the life and death of Jade Goody
.
In 2010, Palmer appeared on Would I Lie To You?
as a guest. On 23 April 2011 She was the guest on Piers Morgan's Life Stories
.
Patsy has said she will be returning to East Enders, she begins filming in autumn 2011
1998:
2000:
2008:
2009:
2010:
(Ricky Butcher
) and Danniella Westbrook
(Sam Mitchell
). Palmer has been married twice and has four children: Charley (born February 1992) (from Palmer's relationship with boxer Alfie Rothwell), Fenton (born 13 June 2000), Emilia (born 7 July 2001), and Bertie (born 8 December 2010). As of 2008, she lived with her husband and children in Brighton
, East Sussex
, England
. Her brother, Harry Harris, is married to Lindsey Coulson
, the actress who plays her on-screen mother Carol Jackson
in EastEnders. It was announced on 1 August 2010 that Palmer was pregnant with her fourth child, and on 8 December she gave birth to her third son, Bertie.
Palmer has admitted to having been a drug- and alcohol-addict and revealed that during her 1990s stint on EastEnders she frequently turned up on set either still "high" or "horribly hungover". She has said that she started "experimenting" with alcohol and drugs from the age of ten and her addiction lasted for 24 years. In 2010, she stated that she had been clean of drugs and alcohol since September 2004 and that "We don't have drink in our house".
Palmer suffered from bullying during her school years. Because of this she has lent her support to the Department for Education's anti-bullying campaign in 2000. She is an active patron of Children's Cancer Charity CLIC Sargent
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress. Palmer made an early television appearance on the children's drama show Grange Hill
Grange Hill
Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
, but is best known for playing Bianca Jackson
Bianca Jackson
Bianca Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Patsy Palmer. The character was introduced by executive producer Leonard Lewis and appeared initially from 1993 to 1999, when Palmer opted to leave. In 2002 executive producer John Yorke brought the character...
in the popular British television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. Originally in the cast from 1993–1999, Palmer returned to EastEnders in April 2008. She has also appeared in a number of TV dramas, and released an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, All of Me, in 2007. She lives with her husband and four children in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, East Sussex, UK.
Early life
Patsy Palmer was born and grew up in Bethnal GreenBethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
, East London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She attended Columbia Primary School and then Haggerston Girls Secondary School.
She was brought up along with her two elder brothers, Albert and Harry, by her mother Pat. It was her mother who first spotted her acting talent and encouraged her to go to Anna Scher's
Anna Scher Theatre
The Anna Scher Theatre is a community-based theatre school based in Islington, North London. The school turns out some of London's best child and adult actors.-Anna Scher:...
famous acting school in London (where many other EastEnders stars such as Sid Owen
Sid Owen
Sid Owen is an English actor, television presenter and former singer, most famous for playing the role of Ricky Butcher in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, which he appeared in from 1988 until 2000, 2002 until 2004 and then again from March 2008.-Career:Prior to his role in EastEnders he had a...
, Gillian Taylforth
Gillian Taylforth
Gillian Taylforth is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Kathy Mitchell on the BBC soap opera, EastEnders and as Jackie Pascoe-Webb on ITV's Footballers Wives , but more recently as Sgt. Nikki Wright in ITV's The Bill...
, Susan Tully
Susan Tully
Susan Tully is an English television producer, director and former actress.Her most prominent television roles to date have been those of single mother Michelle Fowler in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and her pivotal part in early Grange Hill...
, Phil Daniels
Phil Daniels
Philip W. "Phil" Daniels is an English actor, most noted for film and television roles as "cockneys" such as Jimmy in Quadrophenia, Richards in Scum, Stewart in The Class of Miss MacMichael, Mark in Meantime, Kevin Wicks in EastEnders, DCS Frank Patterson in New Tricks and Edward Kitchener "Ted"...
, Jake Wood
Jake Wood
Jake Dylan Wood is an English actor, best known in his homeland for playing Max Branning on "EastEnders" and in the United States as the current voice of the GEICO gecko.-Biography:...
and Adam Woodyatt
Adam Woodyatt
Adam Brinley Woodyatt is an English actor and media personality, best known for his role as Ian Beale in the long-running BBC soap opera EastEnders...
also trained). Palmer was bullied at school, and has said that acting was a form of escape.
Aged six she starred in a West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
.
Early career
She made her screen debut in the television programme The Gentle TouchThe Gentle Touch
The Gentle Touch is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which ran from 1980-1984. Commencing transmission on 11 April 1980, the series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police detective as its leading character, ahead of...
in 1984. Like many other EastEnders actors, Palmer appeared on the children's drama show Grange Hill
Grange Hill
Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
in 1986 and 1987. She went on to have small roles in BBC's Tricky Business
Tricky Business
Tricky Business was a British children's sitcom which ran for three series from 1989 to 1991. It featured Anthony Davis and Sally Ann Marsh and Una Stubbs in the first series, David Wood, Anthony Davis, Patsy Palmer and a puppet rabbit called Crabtree in the second and Bernie Clifton and Leslie...
(1989), Making News
Making News
Making News is a television drama set in the world of journalism produced by Thames Television for the ITV network.A pilot was screened in 1989, followed by one series of six episodes in 1990. The leading cast members included Bill Nighy, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Paul Darrow, Annie Lambert and Tony Osoba....
(1990), Clarissa
Clarissa
Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady is an epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson, published in 1748. It tells the tragic story of a heroine whose quest for virtue is continually thwarted by her family, and is the longest real novelA completed work that has been released by a publisher in...
(1991), Love Hurts (1992), Drop the Dead Donkey
Drop the Dead Donkey
- Major characters :* Gus Hedges — The unctuous Chief Executive of the company, and yes-man to Sir Roysten Merchant. A management stereotype, complete with clichés and clumsy metaphors, he swiftly transforms GlobeLink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel...
(1993), and The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
(1993), and she also appeared as an acne
Acne
Acne is a general term used for acneiform eruptions. It is usually used as a synonym for acne vulgaris, but may also refer to:*Acne aestivalis*Acne conglobata*Acne cosmetica*Acne fulminans*Acne keloidalis nuchae*Acne mechanica...
-ridden teenager in a Clearasil
Clearasil
Clearasil is the top-selling brand of skin care and acne medication, whose products contain chiefly benzoyl peroxide, sulfur & resorcinol, triclosan, or salicylic acid as active ingredients...
advert.
EastEnders
In 1993 she was cast in the role of feisty Bianca JacksonBianca Jackson
Bianca Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Patsy Palmer. The character was introduced by executive producer Leonard Lewis and appeared initially from 1993 to 1999, when Palmer opted to leave. In 2002 executive producer John Yorke brought the character...
in BBC's flagship soap opera, EastEnders. A popular character, Bianca's on-off romance with Ricky Butcher
Ricky Butcher
Richard Francis "Ricky" Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sid Owen. Introduced as a school boy in 1988, Ricky is one of the longest-running, male protagonists to feature in EastEnders. Owen originally left the role in 2000 to pursue a music career...
(Sid Owen) captivated millions of fans and their on-screen marriage in 1997 drew one of the biggest soap audiences ever — more than 22 million. She remained in the role for six years, but quit in 1999 to spend more time with her family and to concentrate on other projects. She reprised the role in May 2002 in a special spin-off entitled, EastEnders: Ricky and Bianca. The two-part, hour-long special was filmed in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and reunited Bianca and Ricky for the first time in over two years.
In 2005, Palmer publicly criticised EastEnders, branding the storylines ridiculous and unbelievable and stating that she "wouldn't go back to EastEnders". However, in October 2007 the BBC announced that Palmer would be returning to the soap as a fulltime character; she made her comeback on-screen in April 2008. Palmer has commented "I can't wait to explore what Bianca has been doing with her life and seeing what she is going to get up to next" and executive producer of EastEnders, Diederick Santer
Diederick Santer
Diederick Santer is a British television producer and is best known for his work on the popular BBC television soap opera EastEnders, a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010...
, added, "I'm delighted to welcome Patsy Palmer home to EastEnders. Bianca is one of the most popular characters the show has ever had".
Other work
Palmer made a guest appearance on the Christmas Day 1993 episode of Top of the PopsTop of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
introducing 'No Limit' by 2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited is a Dutch Eurodance/Hi-NRG act formed in 1991. The project was the brainchild of Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde, and was fronted by a Dutch duo, rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. During five years of enormous worldwide popularity, the act scored 16 chart...
with presenter Mark Franklin.
Palmer worked on the first series of OK TV with Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips is an English journalist, broadcaster and television presenter.-Early life:Phillips was born in Kent and Canterbury Hospital in 1961. Her grandparents ran the Duke's Head pub in Church Street St. Paul's. Phillips attended Kingsmead Primary School...
in 1999. In the first episode of the series she was shown at a beauty salon where she got her hair shampooed and interviewed Lindsay Coulson, who played her fictional mother Carol Jackson
Carol Jackson
Carol Ann Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lindsey Coulson. The character was introduced in 1993 as part of a new problem family. Coulson decided to quit the role in 1997, but she returned temporarily in 1999 as part of a storyline that marked Carol's...
in EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. In 1999, Palmer made a cameo appearance as herself in an episode of Kathy Burke
Kathy Burke
Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress, comedienne, playwright and theatre director. She is best known for her portrayals of Perry in the Harry Enfield film Kevin and Perry Go Large, and of Linda La Hughes in the British sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme...
's sitcom, Gimme Gimme Gimme; it made light of her role as Bianca Jackson. She appeared as Clare in the detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
series McCready and Daughter, which aired for a pilot and one series between 2000 and 2001. She made an appearance in He Knew He Was Right
He Knew He Was Right (TV serial)
He Knew He Was Right was a 2004 BBC TV adaptation of the novel of the same name by Anthony Trollope. It was directed by Tom Vaughan.*Jenny Uglow consultant*Nigel Stafford-Clark producer-Cast:*Oliver Dimsdale - Louis Trevelyan...
for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 2004, and in 2001 she was seen in the television mini-series Do or Die, which aired on Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
.
On stage she has starred in the one-woman musical Tell Me On A Sunday
Tell Me On A Sunday
Tell Me on a Sunday is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black. A one-act song cycle, it tells the story of an ordinary English girl from Muswell Hill, who journeys to the United States in search of love...
, which toured the UK, and played in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
. She also had a leading role in a UK tour of the musical Steppin' Out
Stepping Out (play)
Stepping Out is a play written by Richard Harris in 1984. It was produced in the West End, London, where it received the Evening Standard Comedy of the Year Award, and on Broadway, New York.-Plot:...
, appeared in the original West End run of Mum's the Word, and acted in We Happy Few
We Happy Few
We Happy Few is a 2004 play by Imogen Stubbs. It follows a group of female actors touring Shakespeare plays round the United Kingdom during World War II . It is based on the real-life touring group, the Osiris Players...
by Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs, Lady Nunn is an English actress and playwright.-Early life:Imogen Stubbs was born in Northumberland, lived briefly in Portsmouth, where her father was a naval officer, and then moved with her parents to London, where they lived on an elderly river barge on the Thames...
, which played a short run at the Gielgud Theatre
Gielgud Theatre
The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, London, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 889 seats on three levels.-History:...
.
Palmer stood in for GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
s Lorraine Kelly
Lorraine Kelly
Lorraine Kelly is a Scottish television presenter, journalist and actress, best known as a presenter for TV-am, and later GMTV and ITV Breakfast, on Lorraine.-Early life:...
, presenting her Lorraine Live section for a week in 1999, reporting from Miami on fashion, lifestyle, health and fitness. She has also co-hosted Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Big Breakfast as a guest presenter for a week. Palmer has released a number of hit fitness videos and DVDs: Patsy Palmer - The Club Workout (2000), Patsy Palmer - The Urban Workout (2002) and Patsy Palmer's Ibiza Workout (2002). In 2006 Palmer made an appearance in the charity fitness DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
The Allstar Workout. Palmer's film work includes the shorts Love Story (1999) directed by Nick Love
Nick Love
Nick Love is a British film director and writer. Love came to public attention in the UK after making the films The Football Factory, The Business and The Firm. He has two 'Millwall' tattoos, including one on the inside of his bottom lip.Love is well known for collaborating with actor Danny Dyer...
, and Another Green World (2005) directed by Peter Chipping.
In 2005 Palmer took part in BBC's Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
show, to raise money for the Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
fund. She has also made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
with Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and four BAFTA Awards...
's sketch show The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Aschlin Ditta. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. The Catherine Tate Show airs on BBC Two and is shown worldwide through the BBC...
. In February 2007, she was a jury member on the BBC programme The Verdict
The Verdict (BBC)
The Verdict was a controversial 2007 BBC television programme produced by RDF Media in which twelve celebrities formed the jury in the trial of a fictional rape case. The programme was filmed with real legal and medical professionals, but with actors playing the victim, defendants, and witnesses...
where various celebrities ruled on a contemporary and controversial case, based on evidence and examples from real life.
Palmer's autobiography All of Me was released in the UK on 5 April 2007. In it she describes her ascent to fame, her struggle with addiction and how she has battled to overcome her problems. In addition to acting, Palmer has set up her own company, "Palmer Cutler", with a friend, selling beauty and self-tanning products.
In 2008 a short film starring Palmer was released by housing and homelessness charity Shelter
Shelter (charity)
Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the...
.
Palmer appeared in Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2009. Her team (Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax is a BAFTA nominated American comedian who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s.-Early life:...
, Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips is an English journalist, broadcaster and television presenter.-Early life:Phillips was born in Kent and Canterbury Hospital in 1961. Her grandparents ran the Duke's Head pub in Church Street St. Paul's. Phillips attended Kingsmead Primary School...
, Carol Vorderman
Carol Vorderman
Carol Jean Vorderman MBE is a British media personality, best known for co-hosting the popular game show Countdown for 26 years from 1982 to 2008. In September 2011 she became a co-anchor of the ITV1 panel show Loose Women....
, and team leader Michelle Mone
Michelle Mone
Michelle Mone OBE is a Scottish entrepreneur and model, who is best known as being the CEO of Ultimo.-Success with Ultimo:...
) had won the show despite Palmer having difficulties working with Mone and nearly quitting as a result.
Palmer narrated the tribute show Jade: As Seen on TV in May 2009 celebrating the life and death of Jade Goody
Jade Goody
Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody was an English celebrity. She came into the public spotlight while appearing on the third series of the Channel 4 reality TV programme Big Brother in 2002, an appearance which led to her own television programmes and the launch of her own products after her eviction from...
.
In 2010, Palmer appeared on Would I Lie To You?
Would I Lie To You? (TV series)
Would I Lie to You? is a comedy panel game made by Zeppotron for BBC One. It was first broadcast on 16 June 2007.-Format:The show was presented by Angus Deayton in 2007 and 2008, and by Rob Brydon from 2009 onwards...
as a guest. On 23 April 2011 She was the guest on Piers Morgan's Life Stories
Piers Morgan's Life Stories
Piers Morgan's Life Stories, also known as Life Stories, is a British television chat show presented by journalist Piers Morgan. Filmed in front of a studio audience, each programme is devoted to one special celebrity guest. The interviews are intimate, in-depth and emotionally-charged as Piers...
.
Patsy has said she will be returning to East Enders, she begins filming in autumn 2011
Awards
1996:- Nominated 'Most Popular Actress' at the National Television AwardsNational Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
1998:
- Palmer became the first-ever soap actress to be nominated for 'Best Actress' at The Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Awards
2000:
- Won 'Best Actress' at the TV QuickTV QuickTV Choice, is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group...
/TV Choice Awards - Won 'Best Actress' at the Inside Soap AwardsInside Soap AwardsThe Inside Soap Awards is a yearly award ceremony run by Inside Soap magazine since 1996. The awards celebrate the British and Australian soap operas and their actors. Until 2007, EastEnders had won the award for "Best Soap" on every occasion...
- Won 'Best Actress' at The British Soap Awards
- Nominated 'Best On-Screen Partnership alongside Sid OwenSid OwenSid Owen is an English actor, television presenter and former singer, most famous for playing the role of Ricky Butcher in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, which he appeared in from 1988 until 2000, 2002 until 2004 and then again from March 2008.-Career:Prior to his role in EastEnders he had a...
at The British Soap Awards
2008:
- Nominated 'Best Storyline' at the Inside Soap AwardsInside Soap AwardsThe Inside Soap Awards is a yearly award ceremony run by Inside Soap magazine since 1996. The awards celebrate the British and Australian soap operas and their actors. Until 2007, EastEnders had won the award for "Best Soap" on every occasion...
for "Bianca's Return"
2009:
- Nominated 'Favorite Soap Actress' at the TRIC Awards
- Nominated 'Best Dramatic Performance' at the British Soap Awards.
2010:
- Nominated 'Best On-Screen Partnership' alongside Sid Owen at the British Soap Awards
Personal life
She is close friends with Sid OwenSid Owen
Sid Owen is an English actor, television presenter and former singer, most famous for playing the role of Ricky Butcher in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, which he appeared in from 1988 until 2000, 2002 until 2004 and then again from March 2008.-Career:Prior to his role in EastEnders he had a...
(Ricky Butcher
Ricky Butcher
Richard Francis "Ricky" Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sid Owen. Introduced as a school boy in 1988, Ricky is one of the longest-running, male protagonists to feature in EastEnders. Owen originally left the role in 2000 to pursue a music career...
) and Danniella Westbrook
Danniella Westbrook
Danniella Westbrook is an English actress and television presenter. She is known for being the original actress to play Samantha Mitchell in the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders from 1990–93, 1995–96, 1999–2000 and 2009–10. Away from EastEnders she has presented various shows, and was also a...
(Sam Mitchell
Sam Mitchell (EastEnders)
Samantha Margaret Priscilla "Sam" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. The third member of the Mitchell family to be introduced, Sam entered as a 15-year-old school girl in July 1990, played by Danniella Westbrook. Westbrook quit in 1993, but was reintroduced...
). Palmer has been married twice and has four children: Charley (born February 1992) (from Palmer's relationship with boxer Alfie Rothwell), Fenton (born 13 June 2000), Emilia (born 7 July 2001), and Bertie (born 8 December 2010). As of 2008, she lived with her husband and children in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her brother, Harry Harris, is married to Lindsey Coulson
Lindsey Coulson
Lindsey Coulson is an English actress, best known for her role as Carol Jackson in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.- Career :...
, the actress who plays her on-screen mother Carol Jackson
Carol Jackson
Carol Ann Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lindsey Coulson. The character was introduced in 1993 as part of a new problem family. Coulson decided to quit the role in 1997, but she returned temporarily in 1999 as part of a storyline that marked Carol's...
in EastEnders. It was announced on 1 August 2010 that Palmer was pregnant with her fourth child, and on 8 December she gave birth to her third son, Bertie.
Palmer has admitted to having been a drug- and alcohol-addict and revealed that during her 1990s stint on EastEnders she frequently turned up on set either still "high" or "horribly hungover". She has said that she started "experimenting" with alcohol and drugs from the age of ten and her addiction lasted for 24 years. In 2010, she stated that she had been clean of drugs and alcohol since September 2004 and that "We don't have drink in our house".
Palmer suffered from bullying during her school years. Because of this she has lent her support to the Department for Education's anti-bullying campaign in 2000. She is an active patron of Children's Cancer Charity CLIC Sargent
CLIC Sargent
CLIC Sargent is charity in the United Kingdom that was formed by the merger of Sargent Cancer Care for Children and Cancer and Leukaemia in Childhood in 2005. The charity specializes in providing support for children with cancer....
.