Patsy Palmer admitted she has previously been stoned on the school run as she opened up about her previously unhealthy relationship with alcohol and drugs.
The EastEnders star, 52, who is currently in the Celebrity Big Brother house, admitted she was once so addicted to cannabis that she smoked it just before school pick-up.
Patsy, who started drinking at just eight-years-old, now has a clean lifestyle and only drinks in moderation while living in California with her family.
The mother-of-four wrote in her 2007 autobiography All Of Me, Life, Love And Addiction: ‘My hands were shaking as I looked at the Rizla papers on the side.’
Patsy admitted she hit an all-time low after skipping an important meeting to stay at home watching This Morning on TV while smoking dope and eating doughnuts.
She said: ‘The night before, I’d put away the puff — my skunk weed, otherwise known as super-strong marijuana — on top of a cupboard, hoping that when I woke up in the morning I’d have forgotten about it.’
Patsy Palmer admitted she has previously been stoned on the school run as she opened up about her previously unhealthy relationship with alcohol and drugs
The EastEnders star, 52, who is currently in the Celebrity Big Brother house, admitted that she was once so addicted to cannabis that she chain-smoked right before her kids school pick-up
Patsy says she felt ‘edgy’ and ‘paranoid’ and desperately attempting to distract herself with house work.
She wrote: ‘I took the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard. I loathe housework… it was the most normal thing I could think of.
‘A minute later I was on the couch, watching This Morning and smoking a big, fat joint. I’d promised myself never to smoke in the house because of the kids.
‘I didn’t want any traces lingering for them. I wanted to be extra careful because my little girl had chest problems.
‘By midday I was stoned. But it was OK because I could eat something and be fine by 3.30pm, when I needed to leave for the school run.
‘Three hours later I had finished my third joint and second jam doughnut.
‘I stood in the middle of the room and thought, “Is this what my life has come to?” I was feeling physically ill, horrible and dirty.
‘A voice was like, “You are a responsible parent, you are a grown woman. Sort this out, now. What are you doing, you idiot?”
Patsy, who started drinking at just eight-years-old, now has a clean lifestyle and lives in California
She wrote in her 2007 autobiography: ‘The night before, I’d put away the puff — my skunk weed, otherwise known as super-strong marijuana — on top of a cupboard, hoping that when I woke up in the morning I’d have forgotten about it’; pictured with Daniella Westbrook in 1995
Patsy admitted she hit an all-time low after skipping an important meeting to stay at home watching This Morning on TV while smoking dope and eating doughnuts; pictured 1998
She continued: ‘I’d promised myself never to smoke in the house because of the kids. By midday I was stoned. But I could eat something and be fine by 3.30pm, when I needed to leave for the school run. Three hours later I had finished my third joint’
Patsy admitted her partying got out of control and that she would binge on drugs then ‘shower and change’ before heading to work at EastEnders.
In a 2010 interview, the actress said she would binge on booze and took cocaine and ecstasy while on set.
She said: ‘Quite often, I’d party all night and go into work the next morning, just grabbing sleep on the set whenever I could. I don’t know how I survived.
‘You can get dressed up and look great but inside you might be dying. I felt like that.
‘In this business you can get away with murder. You try to make yourself look nice from the outside, but if you’re not feeling good inside, what’s the point?’
Ahead of entering Celebrity Big Brother, Patsy said she now ‘occasionally has a glass of wine’ which no longer ‘bothers her’.
Patsy is mum to children Fenton, 24, Emilia, 23, and Bertie, 16, who she shares with her ex-cabbie husband Richard and Charley Palmer Rothwell, 33 – her UK-based son with former partner Alfie Rothwell.
The iconic star played Bianca from 1993 to 1999 and from 2008 to 2014 in EastEnders, before returning for a short stint in 2019 – and for the 40th anniversary.
Patsy is mum to children Fenton, 24, (pictured) Emilia, 23, and Bertie, 16, who she shares with her ex-cabbie husband Richard and Charley Palmer Rothwell, 33 – her UK-based son with former partner Alfie Rothwell
It comes after the stars on Celebrity Big Brother were lost for words the moment they heard Mickey Rourke had been ordered to leave.
The Hollywood actor, 72, was thrown out of the ITV house on Saturday after exploding into a foul-mouthed rant amid an altercation with Love Island’s Chris Hughes and bringing Ella to tears with inappropriate sexual language.
During Sunday night’s episode, JoJo Siwa was left packing up Mickey’s belongings as her co-stars were left too stunned to speak.
As Big Brother revealed the news Mickey had left, Trisha Goddard shouted ‘told you’, while Ella Rae Wise was left wondering if he had left on his own accord.
Fans blasted ‘disgusting’ Mickey after he was booted out of the house.
His £500,000 fee for the show will reportedly be slashed following his removal from the house due to repeated ‘offensive and inappropriate’ language.
CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER 2025: MEET THE LINEUP!
MICKEY ROURKE
AGE: 72
FAMOUS FOR: The actor and former pro boxer is one of the show’s biggest ever signings and after public feuds with Robert De Niro, two marriages and a string of high profile relationships, he will be bringing plenty of drama.
DALEY THOMPSON
AGE: 66
FAMOUS FOR: The double Olympic gold-medallist is considered one of Britain’s greatest athletes. He broke the decathlon world record four times.
PATSY PALMER
AGE: 52
FAMOUS FOR: It’s an open secret that Patsy is leaving EastEnders, with the actress enjoying a wild leaving party this month. The Bianca Jackson star posted a snap of her character on Instagram with the caption: ‘Bye bye B, always grateful to see her again.’
DONNA PRESTON
AGE: 38
FAMOUS FOR: While Donna has featured in several TV shows and movies, the comedy star is known for hosting Apocalypse and for the role of a circus Compere in 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. She plays Den in Coronation Street, has featured in Pants On Fire in 2019 and even wrote and co-produced BBC Three’s Comedy Threesomes.
CHESNEY HAWKES
AGE: 53
FAMOUS FOR: The singer topped the charts for five weeks in 1991 with his hit The One And Only, before making a string of acting and TV appearances. His arrival on CBB has been described by a TV source as ‘perfect timing’, as he’s just released a comeback album
ANGELLICA BELL
AGE: 49
FAMOUS FOR: The TV presenter is said to have landed a staggering five-figure deal to appear on Celebrity Big Brother. Fans will be keen to see if the CBBC legend spills all on her untimely exit from The Martin Lewis Show – which left fans baffled back in 2023. Angellica currently co-presents Hits Radio while Fleur East is on maternity leave.
DANNY BEARD
AGE: 32
FAMOUS FOR: The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner – whose real name is Daniel Curtis – has signed up as a late entry. Danny previously made headlines after swearing on Big Brother’s Late & Live last March whilst doing an impression of housemate Louis Walsh. The incident saw the guest say the word ‘c***’ before immediately apologising after being informed they weren’t allowed to say that on the show.
CHRIS HUGHES
AGE: 32
FAMOUS FOR: After shooting to fame on Love Island in 2017, Chris went on to become a sports presenter and regularly hosts the horse racing coverage on ITV.
JOJO SIWA
AGE: 21
FAMOUS FOR: The American singer, who shot to stardom on reality show Dance Moms, is expected to draw a big American audience. The hitmaker has made a name for herself in the U.S. pop charts and is known for her outlandish looks and being a vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community.
TRISHA GODDARD
AGE: 67
FAMOUS FOR: The talk show host regularly presented on ITV from 1998 to 2004 and then shifted to Channel 5 from 2004 to 2010. Trisha has been suffering horrible side effects of her chemotherapy – but has bravely battled on.
JACK P. SHEPHERD
AGE: 37
FAMOUS FOR: The actor has played David Platt in Corrie since 2000 and is following in his pal Colson Smith’s footsteps by taking part in the popular reality show. He has won a string of awards for the role including Best Actor at the British Soap Awards.
ELLA RAE WISE
AGE: 24
FAMOUS FOR: Producers have been keen to land the TV personality, who previously dated Pete Wicks and has had an on-off romance with Dan Edgar. Bosses are hoping the TOWIE star might reveal all about some of her other famous exes.
MICHAEL FABRICANT
AGE: 74
FAMOUS FOR: The former Conservative politician is understood to have signed a lucrative six-figure deal to take part after political stars were banned from the broadcaster’s other reality show, I’m A Celeb. He served as MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire from 1992 until his defeat in 2024 as well as vice-chairman of the party under David Cameron. But he is perhaps best known for his blond mop for which he has been widely ridiculed but previously denied is a wig.
