Roxanne Pallett told she was ‘more hated than a murderer’ after Celebrity Big Brother ‘punch’ row

‘It's been a real mountain to climb, for me to get to this point today’

Former Celebrity Big Brother contestant Roxanne Pallett was told she was “more hated than a murderer” after wrongly accusing ex-Coronation Street star Ryan Thomas of physical assault.

Last year, the Emmerdale actor accused Thomas of “punching her like a boxer” during a play fight on the Channel 5 reality programme in which the father-of-one accidentally grazed the 36-year-old's arm.

Thomas was issued with a formal warning over the incident, while Pallett asked to sleep in a separate room because she no longer felt “safe” in the shared bedroom.

Closer magazine (Closer magazine)

After calling for Thomas to be removed from the television show, Pallett quit the series and faced backlash from viewers for the accusations.

In a new interview with Closer magazine, Pallett said she didn’t leave the house for two months for fear of being physically or verbally attacked after the incident.

“It was an awful blur,” she said of the public's reaction to her accusations.

“All my insecurities were heightened. I had feelings of paranoia, and feared something bad would happen to me.

Roxanne Pallett enters the Celebrity Big Brother house at Elstree Studios on August 16, 2018 in Borehamwood, England. (Getty Images)

“When the phone rang, I’d feel sick. If I passed someone on the street, I was convinced they meant me harm. I was told that people were saying they wanted to throw acid in my face and that I was more hated than a murderer."

The actor said she lost a stone-and-a-half and dropped to a size 4 in the aftermath of the incident.

“My hair was falling out, and my insomnia got worse,” Pallett told the publication.

“I felt drained, exhausted and out of breath. I wasn’t eating or sleeping or leaving the house, and I was only talking to three other people.”

Pallett also discussed her Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis in light of her time on the programme.

“It’s been a real mountain to climb, for me to get to this point today,” Pallett continued.

“I’ve been nervous about it, because my confidence has taken a knock.”

However, the actor said that while is daunted by the public’s opinion of her but they are “completely entitled” to their points of view.

Roxanne Pallett enters the Celebrity Big Brother house at Elstree Studios on August 16, 2018 in Borehamwood, England. (Getty Images)

After leaving the Big Brother House, Pallett – who quit her job as a co-host on Minister FM’s breakfast show following the backlash – has found help with a combination of counselling sessions, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and spending time in the US.

Describing the last few months as “the most valuable and rewarding” of her life, Pallett added: “I’ve completely reset my mind and my thoughts.

“I went off the grid for therapy, which was needed for my mental health.”

The actor said she regretted her accusations levied against Thomas, revealing her reaction was “monumentally wrong”.

At the time of Pallett’s departure from the show, media watchdog OFCOM received 11,215 complaints over the episode which featured her reaction to Thomas.

Pallett later issued an apology to her Celebrity Big Brother co-star and said she had “overreacted” to the incident.

“When I look back on that footage, as soon as I left the house… I got it wrong,” the actor said on Channel 5's Jeremy Vine show.

“[It was] an overreaction to what wasn't a malicious act. I was sensitive and emotional and mistook what was playful - I apologise for it, I shouldn't have questioned his motivation.”

The full interview appears in this week’s Closer magazine, on sale now.