Can Roxanne ever move on from ‘punchgate’?

● Roxanne Pallett breaks her silence five months on from her shock CBB ‘punchgate’ scandal ● Admits she’s been suicidal and suffering from PTSD since lying about Ryan Thomas ‘attacking’ her ● Celebs assess what the future holds for her now

It’s been five months since Roxanne Pallett was caught up in one of the biggest scandals in Big Brother history, dramatically exiting the house after falsely accusing housemate Ryan Thomas of “assaulting” her – something she later admitted was false.

After going to ground, the disgraced Emmerdale actress, 35, last week broke her silence in a tell-all interview – insisting she had suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder, lost her hair through stress and wanted to kill herself after the controversy engulfed her.

She explained, “I’ve lost my career, my radio jobs, my life as I knew it, everything. I’ve only got my mum, my auntie and two friends now who I trust implicitly. I’m grateful for those people but I did hit rock bottom.”

She revealed that her issues stem from past traumas – including surviving an abusive relationship with a previous boyfriend, losing her home to a house fire as a child and her best friend’s suicide in 2009. She said, “I’ve spent the last five months addressing it.”

Roxanne underwent EMDR therapy (a type of psychotherapy to help people heal from experiences that have caused emotional trauma) with practitioner Findlay Collins, who said last week, “I can confirm Roxanne to be suffering from PTSD from several traumatic events she has suffered.”

Roxanne faced an onslaught of criticism from fans over what was dubbed “punchgate” and was slammed by 21 of her former Emmerdale co-stars. Some accused her of making similar allegations against male colleagues, while others insisted the furious backlash was “karma” for her past behaviour.

After being crowned the winner of CBB, Ryan said of Roxanne, “If she wants forgiveness and it makes her feel better, I would rather give her that because I think she’s been punished enough by the public and people around her”.

Speaking last week, Roxanne now appears determined to move on with her life, insisting, “Like everyone who makes a mistake, I just want to be allowed to learn from it and move forward because nobody can punish me more than me.”

But what does the future hold for Roxanne? We asked a panel of celebs who’ve all been in the Big Brother house for their take…

❛ WHAT SHE DID TO RYAN WAS WRONG – BUT EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE ❜