Early career Upon enrolling at the Anna Scher Theatre school, and learning about an accomplished actress already with the name Julie Harris, Palmer adopted her current name by using her mother's maiden name and changing her given name to her mother's pet name, Patsy. Palmer made her screen debut in the television programme
The Gentle Touch in 1984. Like many other
EastEnders actors, Palmer appeared on the children's drama show
Grange Hill between 1985 and 1987. She went on to have small roles in BBC's
Tricky Business (1989),
Making News (1990),
Clarissa (1991),
Love Hurts (1992),
Drop the Dead Donkey (1993), and
The Bill, where she portrayed four different roles from 1988 to 1993. She also appeared as an
acne-ridden teenager in a 1989
Clearasil advert, and in a 1992
BT advert with other future
EastEnders star
Jake Wood.
EastEnders In 1993, she was cast in the role of
Bianca Jackson in the
BBC soap opera
EastEnders. Bianca's on-screen marriage to
Ricky Butcher (
Sid Owen) in 1997 drew one of the biggest soap audiences ever – more than 22 million. She remained in the role for six years, but left the show in 1999 to spend more time with her family and to concentrate on other projects. She reprised the role in May 2002 in a
special,
EastEnders: Ricky and Bianca. The two-part, hour-long special was filmed in
Manchester, which reunited Bianca and Ricky for the first time in over two years. In 2005, Palmer publicly criticised
EastEnders, branding the storylines ridiculous and unbelievable and stating that she "wouldn't go back to
EastEnders". However, in October 2007 the BBC announced that Palmer would be returning to the soap as a full-time character; she made her comeback on-screen in April 2008. Of her return, Palmer said: "I can't wait to explore what Bianca has been doing with her life and seeing what she is going to get up to next", and
EastEnders executive producer
Diederick Santer added: "I'm delighted to welcome Patsy Palmer home to
EastEnders. Bianca is one of the most popular characters the show has ever had". In 2014, Palmer announced that she was leaving the soap opera. She reprised the role again in the autumn of 2019 for a short stint. In February 2020, it was announced that Palmer would be reprising her role as Bianca again, with scenes set to air later in the year. However, this was later cancelled owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. In January 2024, it was announced that Palmer would be reprising the role again for a short stint. The character returned in March 2024 and appeared until June of that year, prior to a further return in September. She departed the role in 2025, in a storyline accommodating the exit of Bianca's on-screen sister,
Sonia Fowler (
Natalie Cassidy).
Other work Palmer made a guest appearance on the Christmas Day 1993 episode of
Top of the Pops introducing '
No Limit' by
2 Unlimited with presenter Mark Franklin. Palmer worked on the first series of
OK TV with
Fiona Phillips in 1999. In the first episode of the series she was shown at a beauty salon where she got her hair shampooed and interviewed
Lindsey Coulson, who played her fictional mother
Carol Jackson in
EastEnders. In 1999, Palmer made a cameo appearance as herself in an episode of
Kathy Burke's sitcom,
Gimme Gimme Gimme; it made light of her role as Bianca Jackson. She appeared as Clare in the
detective series
McCready and Daughter, which aired for a pilot and one series between 2000 and 2001. She made an appearance in
He Knew He Was Right for the
BBC in 2004, and in 2001 she was seen in the television mini-series
Do or Die, which aired on
Sky One. On stage she has starred in the one-woman musical
Tell Me On A Sunday, which toured the UK, and played in
London's West End. She also had a leading role in a UK tour of the musical ''
Steppin' Out, appeared in the original West End run of Mum's the Word
, and acted in We Happy Few'' by
Imogen Stubbs, which played a short run at the
Gielgud Theatre. Palmer stood in for
GMTV's
Lorraine Kelly, presenting her
Lorraine Live section for a week in 1999, reporting from Miami on fashion, lifestyle, health and fitness. She has also co-hosted
Channel 4's
Big Breakfast as a guest presenter for a week. Palmer has released a number of hit fitness videos and DVDs:
Patsy Palmer – The Club Workout (2000),
Patsy Palmer – The Urban Workout (2002) and ''Patsy Palmer's Ibiza Workout
(2002). In 2006 Palmer made an appearance in the charity fitness DVD The Allstar Workout''. Palmer's film work includes the shorts
Love Story (1999) directed by
Nick Love, and
Another Green World (2005) directed by Peter Chipping. She has also made a
cameo appearance with
Catherine Tate's
sketch show The Catherine Tate Show. In February 2007, she was a jury member on the BBC programme
The Verdict, where various celebrities ruled on a contemporary and controversial case, based on evidence and examples from real life. Palmer's autobiography
All of Me was released in the UK on 5 April 2007. In the book, she described her ascent to fame, her struggle with addiction and how she battled to overcome her problems. In 2003, in addition to acting, Palmer and her friend, Charlotte Cutler went into business with marketer Ken Wells and a Kent-based chemical company, to create "Palmer Cutler", selling beauty and self-tanning products. In 2008, a short film starring Palmer was released by housing and homelessness charity
Shelter. Palmer has been DJing since 2012, including in United States since 2017. In January 2020, Palmer appeared as the Butterfly on the ITV reality singing competition
The Masked Singer. In March, Palmer participated in the
third series of
The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off. In December, she appeared as a guest on
The One Show in an episode dedicated to the late
Barbara Windsor. In 2023, Palmer was a contestant on the
fifteenth series of
Dancing on Ice. She was paired with
Matt Evers and the pair were fourth to be eliminated. In April 2025, Palmer entered the
Celebrity Big Brother house to appear as a housemate on the
twenty-fourth series. ==Personal life==