Patsy Palmer might be known best for shouting “Rickaaaaaay!” as fiery Bianca Jackson on EastEnders, but her real-life story is just as dramatic – and possibly even more fascinating. Despite hanging up her Walford boots back in 2014, the 52-year-old actress has returned to the Square several times, most recently in September 2024, and her current stint hasn’t been given an end date just yet.
But when she’s not back in Albert Square, she’s swapping scripts for turntables as a DJ, soaking up the California sunshine, and raising her four children. There’s also buzz she might be heading into the Celebrity Big Brother house this year, and she’s set to pop up on Pointless Celebrities this Saturday – not that she’s said anything to confirm the rumours just yet, reported OK! Magazine.
Patsy’s journey into showbiz started early – on the West End stage at just six, before landing TV gigs in The Gentle Touch, Grange Hill, and The Bill. At 21, she landed the role that made her a household name. But away from the screen, life wasn’t always so glamorous.
Living in a damp flat in London’s East End, she juggled motherhood as a single parent to her eldest son, Charley, while rising to soap stardom. And in her 20s, she faced a serious battle with addiction. In her brutally honest autobiography, she admitted: “By my 20s I was bingeing my life away on cocaine, ecstasy, and enough vodka and Laurent Perrier Champagne to quench a small village’s thirst for several hours.”
She described disappearing into days-long drug binges, saying, “I’m amazed I survived.” Her first marriage, to filmmaker Nick Love, lasted just five months. But in 2000, she found stability with Richard Merkell, with whom she shares three children – Fenton, Amelia, and Bertie – while Charley has gone on to star in Dunkirk, Darkest Hour, and Our Girl.
Sobriety became a turning point for Patsy. She entered rehab in 2004 and now follows the 12-step programme, with alcohol banned from her home. “We don’t have drink in our house,” she told The Mirror. “Richard is a social drinker but he doesn’t drink at home.”
After leaving EastEnders, Patsy moved her family to Malibu in 2014, embracing a quieter lifestyle in an extraordinary setting. She’s now pals with LA celebs like Cindy Crawford and Camille Grammer – even teasing a possible past romance between her son Fenton and Cindy’s daughter, Kaia Gerber.
And, in one of the more unexpected twists, she’s also close with Love Island’s Luca Bish, calling him “beautiful, kind and funny” in a social media shoutout. Turns out, they’re family friends – and he’s even been spotted supporting her DJ sets.
Whether or not she ends up in the Celebrity Big Brother house, one thing’s for sure: from soap stardom to sobriety, Malibu sunshine to late-night sets, Patsy Palmer is living one heck of a second act.
