How Roxanne Pallett’s steelworker fiance Lee Walton went from watching her on TV with his parents to dating her – and her £750,000 CBB paycheck could be 29 times his yearly salary
We take a look at how a humble steelworker from Yorkshire captured the heart of one of soapland’s hottest babes
THERE can't be many steelworkers who are dating a sexy soap actress like CBB star Roxanne Pallett.
So Yorkshire lad Lee Walton is one lucky guy having wooed glam Emmerdale beauty Roxy, who is set to pocket £750,000 for her stint on the show - almost 30 times more than he could earn in a year.
The couple's romance has been a total whirlwind - they got engaged just one week after meeting in a local pub as total strangers, and Roxy admitted she wants children with him on last night's show.
Lee saw a picture of Roxy on Instagram and sent her a private message - and after chatting on the social media site for a few weeks they met up and hit it off.
They moved into their £170k terrace house in his hometown, Thirsk, just seven days after meeting for the first time - and he proposed that night.
Shortly after getting engaged they had to battle through the aftermath of a horror crash ,which saw the ex-Emmerdale star, 36, airlifted to hospital.
Their romance has had more drama so far than an average night in the Woolpack – and that was before she entered the CBB house for a whopping £750,000 reported sum.
Now handsome Yorkshire lad Lee, 40, is glued to his telly every evening as his stunning actress fiancé rubs shoulders with the likes of TOWIE’s Dan Osborne, American comedy royalty Kirstie Alley and bad boy footie ace Jermaine Pennant.
He shows he isn’t interested in bling, with a £140 Emporio Armani watch the only hint of the glitzy possessions you might expect a soap star’s partner to hoard.
His wanderlust has seen him visit the United States on a number of occasions, roaming from New York to Las Vegas, Memphis to Florida and everywhere in-between.
And he shares that passion with Roxanne, who is now a familiar face in his uploads from adventures across the US, including the home of their shared icon Elvis.
A love of baking and literature show a softer side to Lee, with John Grisham and Harper Lee among his favourite writers.
Of course, there’s the love of music which Lee and Roxanne bonded over, with bands such as Oasis, The Rolling Stones, Liam Gallagher and The Beatles sure to be played on a loop at their home in the evening.
And, like most of us, he is a mega-fan of US sitcom Friends.
He and Roxanne were recently snapped at FriendsFest in Heaton Park, Manchester, where they donned wedding outfits to recreate Ross and Rachel’s boozed-up Vegas shotgun wedding.
Babies and weddings
The pair live together in a £170,000 two-bedroom terraced home just 10 minutes away from his parents and are busy planning a fairytale wedding.
Roxanne is the host of a breakfast show on York-based Minster FM, while Lee works just down the road from their home in Thirsk, N Yorks.
Love-struck Lee’s marriage proposal was so spontaneous he didn’t even have a ring.
Instead, they got matching ring tattoos on their engagement ring fingers while he saved up for a sparkler fit for a soap beauty.
They haven’t made the wedding date public yet, but they’ve shown in the past they’re not keen on waiting around.
The pair don't have children at present, but appear to have their heart set on being parents.
CBB viewers saw Roxanne break down in tears when telly psychic Sally Morgan told her she will have children of her own, after the soap star expressed concern it wouldn't happen.
Sally said: “You mustn't think that you can't have kids, 'cause you can,” to which Roxanne replied: “How did you know?”
The celebrity medium then told her: “Because I know you're worried for Lee, it's going to be okay, you'll be alright.”