Patsy kept mum about boy to land EastEnders job
PATSY Palmer did not tell EastEnders bosses she was a single mum when she originally signed up because she feared not getting the job.
The actress joined as loudmouth Bianca Jackson in 1993 aged 20 after giving birth to son Charley the previous year.
She has revealed producers were “shocked” when she finally told them.
Patsy, 47, said: “I thought there was no way on earth I was going to get the job if they knew, so I kept it really quiet. The industry didn’t favour people with children, especially women.
“It was very hard back then for women. So I didn’t tell them until I started working there and they were really shocked.”
She had Charley, 27, following a relationship with boxer Alfie Rothwell. Palmer also has sons Fenton, 19, and Bertie, eight, and daughter Emilia, 18, with husband Richard Merkell.
Patsy returns to the soap tonight but admitted she finds the filming schedule gruelling.
She said: “There’s hardly any rehearsal and they’re all trying to organise their lives and be with their families and have relationships outside of work. It’s difficult.”
The actress and her family have been living in California for years, enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle. She admitted: “No wonder I needed to do something else.
“But it’s great fun and I told them that they [the cast] don’t realise how close they all are.”
Her first EastEnders spell ended in 1999, two years after Bianca’s wedding to Ricky Butcher (actor Sid Owen) drew an audience of more than 22million. She had a second stint on screen from 2008 to 2014.