From Roxanne Pallett to Jo O’Meara, these celebrities’ stints on reality TV spelled disaster for their careers
Going on Celebrity Big Brother or I'm A Celebrity is supposed to be a sure-fire way to boost your career and make some serious cash, but for these former stars it did the opposite
IT'S supposed to be a sure-fire way to boost your career, make stacks of cash and become a national treasure overnight.
But for these celebs, a stint on reality TV spelled disaster.
Big Bother - Roxanne Pallett, 35
Previously: After three years playing victim of domestic violence Jo Sugden on Emmerdale, Roxanne was a reality TV regular.
She appeared on Dancing On Ice, Stars In Their Eyes, Soapstar Superstar and – fatefully – the most recent series of Celebrity Big Brother.
The wrecking ball: After a play fight with Corrie star Ryan Thomas, Roxanne accused him of punching her “like a boxer hits a bag”, calling him a “woman beater”.
When BB gave him a warning, Ryan broke down in tears in the diary room and Roxy quit the show two days later.
In fact, footage showed there’d barely been any physical contact, and Roxanne had to admit it had all been a “horrible mistake”.
The fallout: Roxanne says she’s become the “most hated girl in Britain” and has stepped down from her Minster FM radio job and her upcoming panto role in Cinderella in Chesterfield.
Oh no he didn't - Christopher Biggins, 69
Previously: Whether you loved him in Rentaghost or as a panto season regular, Biggins was the nation’s favourite comedy uncle, and reality TV had treated him well.
He won I’m A Celeb! in 2007 and Celebrity Come Dine With Me two years later.
The wrecking ball: After just nine days in the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2016, Biggins was removed by producers for describing bisexuals as “the worst type” and making a concentration camp joke to fellow housemate and former X Factor contestant Katie Waissel, who is Jewish.
The fallout: Biggins apologised, saying: “I love Jewish people. Listen, my best friend is [actress] Lesley Joseph. You can’t get much more Jewish than that.” Unsurprisingly, any work offers dried up soon afterwards.
Bad romance - Marc Bannerman, 45
Previously: As Albert Square’s resident “Italian stallion” Gianni, Marc was the nation’s heart-throb and dated his real-life love interest Nadia Sawalha, as well as Suranne Jones.
But he was written out of EastEnders in 2000.
The wrecking ball:In the I’m A Celeb! jungle in 2007, Marc met Welsh pop star Cerys Matthews, 49, and the two were seen holding hands and sharing a hammock.
Which would all be very sweet if Marc hadn’t had a girlfriend (Footballers’ Wives star Sarah Matravers) at home.
He was the first to be voted off the show and was branded a love rat.
But at least he admitted it, saying: “I just developed feelings for someone in there and I’ve got a missus at home, I’m a rat. I can’t look for a scapegoat – the buck stops here.”
The fallout: Marc and Cerys continued dating post-jungle, but called it quits a year later.
Now, according to Wikipedia, Marc has some “projects in development”. And we all know what that means…
Binned off - Jayne Middlemiss, 47
Previously: Geordie TV presenter Jayne was one of the most-loved ladettes of the ’90s, hosting The O-Zone and Top Of The Pops and voted one of FHM’s sexiest women.
The wrecking ball: Before the perma-tanned bloggers we all now know and love on Love Island, the show used to feature a host of, um, “celebrities”, such as Calum Best, Liz McClarnon and Paul Danan.
During the first series, Jayne fell hard for former Man Utd player Lee Sharpe, but he fancied Abi Titmuss, and their tear-soaked love triangle gripped the nation.
She sarcastically confronted him with the words: “I’ll always be grateful to you for binning me off on national TV.” Ouch.
The fallout: Jayne went on to win the show with former Westlife bodyguard Fran Cosgrave (ex of ex-Atomic Kitten singer Natasha Hamilton).
But she describes the period after as the “weirdest time” in her life and despite winning Celebrity MasterChef in 2009, has largely stayed out of the limelight and trained to be a yoga teacher instead.
Race row - Jo O'Meara, 39
Previously: As one of the lead vocalists in teen pop band S Club 7, Jo sold 14 million records, toured the world and was about to launch a solo career.
And what better way of doing that than by going on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007? Oh.
The wrecking ball When Jo, Jade Goody and Danielle Lloyd began bullying Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, what started as awks house dynamics became full-on racist slurs.
The incident made international headlines, was discussed in parliament and led to a police investigation.
Although she apologised, Jo was forced to shelve her music comeback, received death threats and had to be placed in a safe house.
The fallout: After a decade in the wilderness, performing in various nightclubs, universities and holiday camps, Jo is back singing with a rebranded (read: depleted) version of S Club called SC3 and they’re gearing up for a tour.
Rumble in the jungle - Gillian McKeith, 58
Previously: Nutritionist Gillian had built up a multimillion-pound empire with bestselling books, her own range of health foods and a career inspecting people’s poo on You Are What You Eat.
The wrecking ball In 2010 she became one of the most-hated jungle contestants of all time, declaring her phobia of “everything that moves” and having a go at Shaun Ryder for pouring his water into that night’s dinner because his saliva wasn’t vegan.
And when viewers repeatedly voted for her to do the trials, she ended up having an unconvincing (but completely hilarious) fainting fit on live TV.
The fallout: Her career was already dwindling after authorities had told her she could no longer call herself a doctor and her scientific credentials were widely discredited. Now she mainly seems to turn up to parties in skimpy, attention-seeking outfits.
The cat that didn't get the cream - George Galloway, 64
Previously: Formerly a controversial Labour MP, George was the leader of the Respect Party and in 2005 had just won a surprise victory, narrowly snatching the Bethnal Green and Bow seat from Labour.
The wrecking ball Although politicians and reality TV often produce horrifying moments, nothing can beat his cat impression on CBB.
He claimed that going in to the house in 2006 was “good for politics”. But presumably crawling around on all fours, purring and pretending to lap milk out of Rula Lenska’s hands wasn’t exactly what his constituents had in mind when they voted for him.
The fallout George is now better known for his unsavoury views than politics. The Respect Party has disbanded and university students have taken to pelting him with glitter.