Roxanne Pallett rose to fame as Jo Stiles in ITV soap Emmerdale, but after years onscreen she now leads a much quieter life.
The actress, 41, famously caused controversy during her appearance on celebrity Big Brother in 2018 when she wrongly accused fellow housemate Ryan Thomas of punching her in the ribs.
The incident received over 25,000 complaints from the public with Roxanne even claiming she had become ‘the most hated woman in Britain.’
Following the fallout the former soap star stepped away from the limelight and disappeared from social media – having last posted in 2020.
Now, five years later and as Big Brother is relaunched on ITV2 for a brand new series… what is Roxanne up to now?
Roxanne Pallett, 41, rose to fame as Jo Stiles in ITV soap Emmerdale but after years on screen she now leads a much quieter life
The actress famously caused controversy during her appearance on celebrity Big Brother in 2018 when she wrongly accused fellow housemate Ryan Thomas of punching her in the ribs (pictured on the show)
Where has Roxanne worked?
The soap star joined award-winning ITV soap Emmerdale in 2005 as Andy Sugden’s wife, Jo Stiles in 2005 and left thee years later (pictured in 2008 with Kelvin Fletcher as Andy)
The soap star joined award-winning ITV soap Emmerdale in 2005 as Andy Sugden’s wife, Jo Stiles in 2005 and left thee years later.
After leaving Emmerdale in 2008, Roxanne competed in Dancing on Ice in 2009 and has starred in a number of movies, stage musicals and television series including Waterloo Road and Casualty.
Her film credits include horrors; 2010’s Lake Placid 3, as well as Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort and Devil’s Tower, both in 2014.
Roxanne has also featured in various reality television shows including Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes, Soapstar Superstar, Dancing On Ice, Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls and Celebrity Coach Trip.
Just before her stint on Big Brother she had a short stint on Minster FM as the co-host of its weekly breakfast show.
What happened in Celebrity Big Brother?
In 2018, Roxanne caused ructions on CBB after she accused ex Coronation Street star Ryan, of ‘repeatedly and deliberately punching’ her in what was actually Ryan punching the air near her
Her accusations left Ryan baffled and devastated as he continually pleaded his innocence after Big Brother cruelly issued him an official warning
In 2018, Roxanne caused ructions on CBB after she accused ex Coronation Street star Ryan, of ‘repeatedly and deliberately punching’ her when he was actually punching the air near her.
Ryan had been playfighting with her but Roxanne insisted he hit her with malice and told the other housemates this version of events.
Her accusations left Ryan baffled and devastated as he continually pleaded his innocence after Big Brother cruelly issued him an official warning.
The producers later combed over the footage of the incident and concluded that Ryan had not punched Roxanne.
The incident received over 25,000 complaints from the public and several of Roxanne’s Emmerdale co-stars criticised her behaviour.
Host Emma Willis also criticised Roxanne, saying she could have ‘ruined’ Ryan’s reputation had there not been any cameras filming the incident.
In 2020, Roxanne revealed she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), prescribed strong sedatives and underwent therapy during her battle with suicidal thoughts after the incident encouraged her to seek help.
What happened afterwards?
Roxanne went through a difficult time following her infamous appearance on Celebrity Big Brother
Roxanne went through a difficult time following her infamous appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.
Broadcast regulator Ofcom received more than 11,000 complaints over her claims as footage appeared to contradict her claims.
A staggering 21 former Emmerdale co-stars slammed the actress while many claimed she was making a ‘mockery’ of real abuse victims.
She said she ‘fell apart three times in the space of three months’ as she participated on reality TV shows CBB, Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls and Celebrity Coach Trip.
After being met with online abuse and ‘toxicity’, which she described as being ‘worse’ than criticism she was faced with in the real world, she decided to delete her social media account.
The Cumbria native told The Sun that stepping away from the limelight and living without an online presence has made her feel ‘free’.
She later added the ‘industry, fame, the pressure and the people’ she had around her were a bad combination.
‘After years of insecurity, paranoia and distress I now feel vindicated and also calm, especially having won my recent legal cases which brought me great satisfaction and closure.
‘The industry, the fame, the pressure and the people I had around me, was such a bad combination with a negative impact on an already fragile mind.’
Is she in a relationship?
It was revealed in August 2019 that Roxanne and New York firefighter Jason Carrion were dating and living together in America
The loved-up pair tied the knot at Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City in January just two months after getting engaged
A ‘happier and healthier’ Roxanne branded her love as ‘mentally strong and grounded’ and expressed her gratitude towards him for becoming her ‘best friend’
It was revealed in August 2019 that Roxanne and New York firefighter Jason Carrion were dating and living together in America.
The union that came seven months after she was dumped by her former fiancé Lee Walton.
The loved-up pair tied the knot at Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City in January just two months after getting engaged.
Reality star Jason previously married Cortney Hendrix when he starred on Married At First Sight in 2014, however the couple split in February 2018.
A ‘happier and healthier’ Roxanne branded her love as ‘mentally strong and grounded’ and expressed her gratitude towards him for becoming her ‘best friend’ at a time where ‘all I had to offer was me’.
Jason also has no plans of returning to the entertainment industry, and kept busy in lockdown by renovating their new ‘dream home’.
Do they have any children?
In August 2021, Roxanne confirmed she was set to welcome a baby boy with her fireman husband Jason
In August 2021, Roxanne confirmed she was set to welcome a baby boy with her fireman husband Jason.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline about the thrilling news, she gushed: ‘I’d always spiritually seen myself having a little boy so it’s beautiful for that dream to come true. J is so excited’.
On her delightful news, a thrilled Roxanne said: ‘Our hearts melted when we found out. We can’t wait to cuddle him! I’d always spiritually seen myself having a little boy so it’s beautiful for that dream to come true…
‘J is so excited, he’s having adorable conversations with my tummy and kissing my bump constantly to feel him kick. And yes we’ve got a collection of cute little fireman outfits awaiting him so he can look just like daddy.’
Jason said: ‘I’ve never felt so happy. We can’t wait for him to be here with us. I really hope he gets Roxanne’s beautiful dark features and that incredible British accent.’
Has Ryan spoken out about ‘punchgate’?
In October Ryan spoke about the crippling loneliness of being in the house, particularly when he was fighting for his innocence among his co-stars
In October Ryan spoke about the crippling loneliness of being in the house, particularly when he was fighting for his innocence among his co-stars.
Roxanne – who later dubbed herself ‘Britain’s Most Hated Woman’ – quit the house and admitted she was wrong after seeing Ryan’s devastation, which saw him breakdown on a number of occasions in the house.
Launching their chat, Scott revealed Ryan’s original ‘get in, get out’, desires for his stint on the show: ‘Let’s be honest at the time you only went into Big Brother for the money, and you got paid? You hated reality TV…
‘Your gameplan was, I’m just gonna go in there, keep my head down and get out!’
He admitted: ‘I wanted to be the first in and the first out, I was so nervous going into that show because it’s the first time I’m showing me for me and I knew that the cameras were on me 24/7, that’s quite a daunting thing to go through.’
Scott then brought up the drama with Roxanne, saying: ‘This situation with Roxanne Pallet which you’ve never talked about before came up and I remember watching at home, and I remember like it was yesterday…
‘I even remember the exact video where you just went up to her and you gave her a little play punch, like, in the air and we’re all watching at home, as the audience, knowing exactly what’s happened, that you never even touched her…
‘So obviously we know straight away from the nation’s perspective that we’re on your side, but obviously being in there, she was making out to the to the rest of the contestants that you would physically hurt her.’
Ryan shed extensive light on the situation and what actually went down in the house: ‘From what you see on the telly and from what I see in the show they’re two different perspectives so I’ll tell you how it looked from where I was standing…
‘So Roxanne and Ben [Jardine] were getting on really well; Roxanne had a fella, she was engaged and Ben was sort of pushing it on her, he really fancied her and he was trying everything in his in his power to sort of whisk her off her feet…
‘So from where I was standing, it looked a little bit uncomfortable like she didn’t want it and he wanted more and then the next thing you know, Roxanne decides she’s gonna go and stay in the spare room, which is away from the rest of the house…
‘From my point of view that was it, that’s why she stayed in there and I just let it go…. but every day we used to train together all the housemates used to go in the garden do a group workout and I woke up this one morning and we were doing the group workout and it felt odd, the atmosphere just didn’t feel right…
‘I had no understanding of why it felt this way, maybe it was because I felt a certain way, maybe I woke up in a bad mood and then, this was the bit that hurt and I had no idea why – people were getting drinks of water for everybody and everyone was handing them out to everybody after the gym workout and no one give me a drink…
‘I know it sounds really strange, but I can only describe it as something at school where you get left out, or you’re the last to be picked and I was like, it’s really odd, people excluding me from something.
‘I sort of broke down because I felt lonely and I felt like everyone else thought that I was the problem and that I’d done something wrong and then I start to question ‘did I do something wrong?’ because it was that intense in that environment.’