# Patsy Palmer
**Patsy Palmer** is the stage name of Julie Anne Harris (married name Julie Merkell), an English actress and DJ best known for playing [Bianca Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/bianca-jackson) in the BBC soap opera *EastEnders*, a role she has played across stints from 1993 to 2025.[1](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/patsy-palmer-celebrity-big-brother-2025-contestant/) • [2](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666) In 1993, at age 21, she made her first appearance on the soap playing Bianca, a quick-witted 16-year-old whose mother, Carol Jackson, was portrayed by [Lindsey Coulson](https://www.edgepedia.org/lindsey-coulson).[2](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth and stage names | Born Julie Anne Harris; married name Julie Merkell; stage name Patsy Palmer taken from her mother's maiden name[1](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/patsy-palmer-celebrity-big-brother-2025-contestant/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) |
| Defining role | Bianca Jackson in *EastEnders*, first appearing in November 1993; IMDb's pre-2024 tally put her on-screen time at about 12 years across 1993–1999, 2008–2014, and a brief 2019 return[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/trivia/) |
| Signature storyline | Ricky and Bianca's April 1997 wedding drew more than 22 million viewers, one of the show's biggest-ever audiences[5](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972) |
| Return stints | Full-time return 2008–2014; one-off episode 2002; brief appearance September 2019; short stint from spring 2024 announced by the BBC[5](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972) • [2](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666) |
| Awards | First soap actress nominated for Best Actress at the Royal Television Society Awards; one of seven *EastEnders* actresses to win Best Actress at the British Soap Awards[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/trivia/) |
| Life beyond acting | DJ; relocated with her family to the United States in 2014; runs the self-tanning business Palmer Cutler[2](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666) • [5](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972) |
## Early life and name
Palmer was born Julie Anne Harris, the youngest child of Albert and Pat Harris, and grew up in [Bethnal Green](https://www.edgepedia.org/bethnal-green) in London's East End, brought up with her two brothers by her mother.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) • [6](https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/patsy-palmer) She attended Columbia Market Nursery School and the Anna Scher Theatre School, and at age six was cast in the chorus of the West End production of *Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat*.[6](https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/patsy-palmer) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) At 12 she wrote a play about prostitution and won an award at the London Festival of Plays.[6](https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/patsy-palmer)
Her stage name was chosen for her: because there was already an accomplished film and theater actress named [Julie Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-harris), she was given the name Patsy Palmer, her mother's maiden name, at the Anna Scher Theatre School.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) In a 2019 *This Morning* appearance she explained how the names coexist: "Julie Anne Harris was my name; my married name is Julie Merkell," adding that in Malibu, "they call me Patsy Julie."[1](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/patsy-palmer-celebrity-big-brother-2025-contestant/)
## EastEnders and Bianca Jackson
Palmer made her first *EastEnders* appearance as Bianca Jackson in November 1993 at age 21.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) The character's romance with Ricky Butcher defined her first stint: their April 1997 wedding drew more than 22 million viewers, one of the soap's biggest-ever audience draws, and the couple divorced on screen in 1999 before remarrying when *EastEnders* turned 25 in 2010.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) • [5](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972) Another major storyline saw Bianca learn that David Wicks was her father.[2](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666) For the storyline in which her disabled daughter Natasha died prematurely, Palmer became the first-ever soap actress nominated for Best Actress at the Royal Television Society Awards.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/)
She left the soap in 1999, her character departing for art college in Manchester, with her last appearance of the first stint in September 1999 after six years.[5](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) She returned for a one-off episode in 2002 and resumed the role full time in 2008, following an October 2007 announcement.[5](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) Her second major stint included the storyline in which Bianca discovered that her teenage stepdaughter [Whitney Dean](https://www.edgepedia.org/whitney-dean) ([Shona McGarty](https://www.edgepedia.org/shona-mcgarty)) was being sexually abused by Tony King.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) • [2](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666)
## Return stints, 2008 to 2025
In 2014 she announced she would leave after what the BBC described as 21 years of playing Bianca Butcher, a figure counting the full span of her association with the role including gaps; the BBC said the character would not be killed off.[5](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972) By contrast, IMDb's tally, covering her appearances through 2019, put her on-screen time at about 12 years (1993–1999, 2008–2014, and briefly in 2019).[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/trivia/)
After 2014 she made guest appearances: Bianca last appeared in Walford in September 2019, in a brief appearance before the pandemic struck.[1](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/patsy-palmer-celebrity-big-brother-2025-contestant/) • [2](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666) In February 2024 the BBC announced that Palmer, then 51, would reprise Bianca for a short stint in spring 2024 after an absence of more than four years, and she was on air in 2025 following the show's 40th-anniversary episodes.[2](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666) • [1](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/patsy-palmer-celebrity-big-brother-2025-contestant/)
## Work beyond EastEnders
After her 1999 departure Palmer appeared in the series *McCready and Daughter* (2001) and the spin-off *Ricky and Bianca* (2002).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) Her reality television credits include [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one)'s *Strictly Come Dancing* in 2005, ITV1's *Dancing On Ice* in 2023, *The Masked Singer*, and *Celebrity Big Brother* in 2025.[2](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666) • [1](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/patsy-palmer-celebrity-big-brother-2025-contestant/)
She is also a DJ, and in 2014, after her second full-time stint ended, she relocated with her family to the United States.[2](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666) In business, she launched tanning products from her company Palmer-Cutler in autumn 2003; the BBC in 2014 described it as a beauty company selling self-tanning products.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/trivia/) • [5](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972) She released her autobiography, *All of Me*, in April 2007.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/trivia/)
## By the numbers
Palmer's *EastEnders* record can be read two ways. IMDb's tally, covering her appearances through 2019, put her on-screen time at about 12 years across 1993–1999, 2008–2014, and a brief 2019 return.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/trivia/) Measured as association with the role, the BBC put the span at 21 years at her 2014 departure.[5](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972) The 1997 wedding episode's audience of more than 22 million remains one of the show's biggest-ever audiences.[5](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972)
## How it compares with other EastEnders cast members
As of 2020, Palmer was the 10th-longest-serving actress in *EastEnders* history, tied with Gretchen Franklin, Lacey Turner, Lorna Fitzgerald, and Shona McGarty, and behind [June Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/june-brown), Pam St. Clement, [Letitia Dean](https://www.edgepedia.org/letitia-dean), and [Wendy Richard](https://www.edgepedia.org/wendy-richard).[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/trivia/) She is also one of seven *EastEnders* actresses to have won the Best Actress Award at the British Soap Awards, alongside Barbara Windsor, Natalie Cassidy, Kacey Ainsworth, Lacey Turner, Jessie Wallace, and Kellie Bright.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/trivia/)
## Personal life and recognition
Palmer is mother to four children: Charley (born 1992), Fenton (June 2000), Emilia (July 2001), and Bertie (December 2010).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) Her married name is Julie Merkell.[1](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/patsy-palmer-celebrity-big-brother-2025-contestant/) Her soap recognition includes the Royal Television Society Best Actress nomination, the first for a soap actress, and the British Soap Awards Best Actress win.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/trivia/)
## References
1. [Who is Patsy Palmer? Celebrity Big Brother 2025 housemate and actress, Radio Times](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/patsy-palmer-celebrity-big-brother-2025-contestant/)
2. [Patsy Palmer to return to EastEnders as Bianca, BBC News](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67967666)
3. [Patsy Palmer, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/)
4. [Patsy Palmer – Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658405/trivia/)
5. [Patsy Palmer to leave EastEnders, BBC News](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26952972)
6. [Patsy Palmer, Tes Magazine](https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/patsy-palmer)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Soap operas and continuing serials › British and Australasian soaps and characters › EastEnders › EastEnders cast members*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license