Roxanne Pallett says she was suffering from undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder when she accused Ryan Thomas of punching her on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’.
The former ‘Emmerdale’ actress has confessed she “lashed out” and described the ‘Coronation Street’ star as “collateral damage”, when she accused him of punching her in a playfight on the Channel 5 show.
Speaking at a mental health event – her first job since she left ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ – she said:
“Last year I unravelled, I broke down. I lashed out. And only now since being diagnosed with PTSD and Panic Disorder do I see that it was a result of years of untreated and ignored mental health issues that were lingering and building up and waiting to bubble over like an unwatched pot on a stove. I fell apart over a matter of weeks and I did so in front of millions on not just one occasion but three TV shows. All in which were edited and shown as entertainment. I was the punchline to the very unfortunate joke.
“I was then ridiculed, judge and villainised, but only some actually recognised the reason behind my reactions – PTSD. It was pouring out of me. I’ve since been inundated with letters from people including soldiers, nurses and counsellors that watched and see that my mental health was crumbling but unfortunately many mistake this symptoms for character traits and they condemn you. Tears, mood swings, erratic behaviour, accusations, doubts, despair. Such awful traits, especially for those around me at the time, those who were inflicted and became collateral damage as a result of just being next to me when I self-destructed.”
And the 36-year-old actress criticised those who leaped to Ryan’s defence and slammed her friends for not speaking out in support of her.
She added:
“Last year the most difficult part wasn’t the avalanche of hate or the opportunists who jumped on the bandwagon, it wasn’t even the ignorant names I was called, weird, toxic, dangerous, dramatic, evil, mental, crazy, attention seeker. It was the silence of those I considered friends that hurt the most.”