Paddy McGuinness poked fun at Patsy Palmer’s Good Morning Britain walk off during his appearance on Friday’s episode of the programme.
During Wednesday’s show, the former EastEnders actress, 48, shut down a video interview from her Malibu home after taking exception to the ITV show’s strap line, saying her 20-year battle with drink and drugs was ‘many, many years ago’.
While appearing on the show days later, Paddy, 47, joked ‘there’s no walking off here’ after noticing his own strap line read: ‘Paddy McGuinness: Comedy Genius’.
Playful: Paddy McGuinness poked fun at Patsy Palmer’s Good Morning Britain walk off during his appearance on Friday’s episode of the programme
Paddy made light of the incident after spotting his caption, and said: ‘Well done on the ‘Comedy Genius: Paddy McGuinness’, there’s no walking off here with that.
‘I’m all over that. I’m going nowhere. I’ll be here on Monday. This is what you want.’
Paddy’s quip comes after Patsy referenced former GMB presenter Piers Morgan’s mid-show decision to walk off set last week, before abruptly ending the chat.
Speaking on the show, she said: ‘You know what, I don’t even want to do this interview, because I don’t even want to look at what it says at the bottom of that screen.
Fuming: During Wednesday’s show, the former EastEnders actress, 48, shut down a video interview from her Malibu home after taking exception to the ITV show’s strap line, saying her 20-year battle with drink and drugs was ‘many, many years ago’
‘So I am just going to switch off, do a real Piers Morgan, and say it’s not OK to have ‘addict to wellness guru’ on the bottom of the screen.’
Susanna apologised, but Patsy said: ‘My issues that I had years ago, that were talked about many years ago, and it’s over, so I am not going to talk to you, don’t worry about it but I don’t want to talk to you.’
She then turned off her camera, and Ben explained ‘addict to wellness guru’ was a quote from her book.
Poking fun: While appearing on the show days later, Paddy, 47, joked ‘there’s no walking off here’ after his own strap line read: ‘Paddy McGuinness: Comedy Genius’
Paddy made light of the incident after spotting his caption read, and said: ‘Well done on the ‘Comedy Genius: Paddy McGuinness’, there’s no walking off here with that’
He added: ‘It wasn’t our intention, Patsy. Certainly wasn’t our intention to hurt Patsy.’
Susanna added: ‘I have no idea that was on the screen, that’s a terrible shame, our apologies to Patsy, she is entitled not to do the interview and we carry on.’
Ben later insisted they hadn’t planned to ‘ambush’ their guest but were going to discuss her wellness brand.
Hosts Ben and Susanna apologised to Patsy on air for the offending strap line, but explained ‘addict to wellness guru’, was a quote she used herself in her 2007 book All of Me: Love, Life and Addiction.
Statement: After receiving backlash for her actions online, Patsy angrily told the ‘trolls and haters’ to ‘go f**k themselves’ for judging her, after ‘working hard to remove negativity from her life’
Furious: Patsy shared a second post later on Wednesday in which she urged people to ‘grow and live happy lives’
Patsy has since taken to social media to explain her early departure, admitting she didn’t want to ‘waste’ her ‘precious’ time talking about the past on the programme.
She wrote: ‘My apologies to anyone that wants to hear good news as I have great faith that considering what is going on in the world right now there are still some people that do.
‘I keep seeing people saying ‘get over yourself’, I have gotten over my old self years ago and no longer wish to discuss it when I only have 5 minutes air time.
Not happy: Paddy’s cheeky quip comes after Patsy referenced former GMB presenter Piers Morgan’s mid-show decision to walk off set last week and did her own
‘I have been a people pleaser my whole life. I am not going to waste those precious 5 minutes talking about things that are 20 years old or about Meghan and Harry.
‘If I do post things on social media in reaction to a TV show or an article I’ve read about something that’s my platform.
‘I have always been very open and honest at certain times in my life as many people are forced to be in the public eye…
‘I was supposed to be on there to talk about a new business that I created that couldn’t be more opposite to that headline.’
Speaking on the show, she said: ‘You know what, I don’t even want to do this interview, because I don’t even want to look at what it says at the bottom of that screen’
‘For all of the trolls and haters and people on here judging me, GO F**K YOURSELVES. I’ve worked hard on myself to remove negativity from my life and the lives of my children.
‘So if anyone has a problem with that you need to go and take a look at your lives and wonder what drives you to jump on here to attack me for standing my ground.
‘If you are parents doing that the shame on you. I hope you find some joy amidst all the madness.’
Patsy – who played Bianca Jackson on the BBC One soap – also insisted her 2007 book All of Me doesn’t describe herself as ‘addict to wellness guru’.
Reaction: Bewildered fans who were watching the show live took to Twitter to comment on Patsy’s decision to suddenly leave the interview
She wrote: ‘Everyone stop arguing on here I can clear up your arguments. You have five mins to talk about exactly what they promise to talk about.
‘If you have to start explaining yourself about something that shouldn’t be on there in the first place the interview is over! That’s one point cleared up.
‘Second there’s no quote in any book that ever said ‘addict to wellness guru’ anywhere ever – that’s that point cleared up.
‘Third I wasn’t on there to promote a book about anything. As human beings that are supposed to thrive and improve we should never be defined by our past not even by ourselves let alone anyone else .
‘Fourth don’t fight each other, find each other and stand together to stop this from happening again and again. If you are fighting each other you are totally missing the point here. (sic)’
Bewildered fans who were watching the show live took to Twitter to comment on Patsy’s decision to suddenly leave the interview.
One person said: ‘Patsy Palmer shuts down GMB. Not a good week for the show.’
Another agreed and said: ‘Didn’t know Patsy Palmer was so sensitive about something she apparently wrote about… sad the way the world is going’
Another person sympathised with Patsy and said: ‘#GMB fair play to #patsypalmer told them where to stick their interview live on air… I’m going to do a Piers she said just before switching off.’
A third wrote: ‘No but what is going on over at GMB today man??? Patsy Palmer really locked off the whole interview right at the start.’
A different person said: ‘Omg Patsy Palmer that was so awkward, but fair play to you.’ #GMB’
While another wrote: ‘Well, that was rude! @GMB #PatsyPalmer Why write it in a book if you don’t want to talk about it? Diva much?’
Another agreed and said: ‘Didn’t know Patsy Palmer was so sensitive about something she apparently wrote about… sad the way the world is going.’
LA time: Ahead of the awkward interview Patsy shared this glowing selfie on Instagram
Mixed: Some viewers supported Patsy’s decision while others branded her a ‘diva’ for storming off the ITV programme
Patsy’s outburst also gave viewers a chance to mourn the absence of former host Piers, as fans claimed the situation ‘wouldn’t have happened’, had he been there.
One person said: ‘@Piersmorgan how would you of handled that @patsypalmerx interview? To be fair I am shocked that @GMB want label someone an addict!
‘It’s taking away Patsy’s right to talk about a sensitive time in her life.’
Another joked: ‘@Piersmorgan have you been coaching Patsy Palmer??’
A third said: ‘GMB has become a right mess since @piersmorgan left. I bet the BBC are loving it! #gmb #bringbackpiers. Where’s Patsy gone?’
Another agreed, and said: ‘Something I dis/agree with @piersmorgan but without him GMB is dull, boring and they just got shut down by Patsy Palmer lmao.
‘That would not have happened if he was there.’
Patsy has previously opened up on turning her life around in her autobiography, All Of Me, and has launched her own wellness Instagram page, Good and Proper.
Bring back Piers? Patsy’s outburst also gave viewers a chance to mourn the absence of former host Piers, as fans claimed the situation ‘wouldn’t have happened’, had he been there
Patsy shot to stardom as market trader Bianca Jackson aged 21, where she found on-screen love with Ricky Butcher, and also found a place in the hearts of the nation.
However off screen, Patsy began struggling with a party hard lifestyle where she would binge on alcohol, cocaine and ecstasy.
The TV star has previously admitted to trying alcohol at eight, sniffing solvents at 11 and even snorting cocaine at just 13.
When she joined the cast of EastEnders, Patsy was a single mother living with her son Charley, now 29, in an East End flat.
She told the Mirror in 2012: ‘Quite often, I’d party all night and go into work the next morning, just grabbing sleep on the set whenever I could, I don’t know how I survived.’
‘My emotions were completely unmanageable at that time and I don’t think I realised how unmanageable they were until I stopped. When I look back and see how much I’ve changed I think I was a different person.’
Younger years: Off screen, Patsy began struggling with a party hard lifestyle where she would binge on alcohol, cocaine and ecstasy (pictured in 1995)
Patsy, who has been teetotal since 2004, has been married twice; firstly to filmmaker Nick Love for five months in 1998.
She went on to marry her husband Richard Merkell in 2000 and the couple now share children Fenton, 20, Emilia, 19, and Bertie, 10.
The media personality previously told how the family ‘don’t have alcohol in the house’ and she follows the 12-step programme from Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.
Patsy, whose real name is Julie Merkell, said: ‘Ask yourself, ‘Is drinking and taking drugs stopping you from being the best person you want to be?’.
‘And if the answer’s yes, it’s time to knock it on the head. Richard and I didn’t want that for our life.
‘I didn’t want to be falling out of clubs. I wanted a settled home life and now I have.’
Family: She went on to marry her husband Richard Merkell in 2000 and the couple now share children Fenton, 20, Emilia, 19, and Bertie, 10 (pictured)
From Walford to Malibu: Patsy Palmers’s journey from soap star to wellness guru
Patsy Palmer – whose real name is Julie Merkell – first rose to prominence in 1993 as Bianca Jackson in BBC soap EastEnders.
When she joined the cast of EastEnders, Patsy was a single mother living with her son Charley, now 29, from her relationship with with boxer Alfie Rothwell.
During her time acting on the show, Patsy was briefly married to filmmaker Nick Love in 1998.
The soap star appeared as her character between 1993–1999, before turning in 2008 until 2014, and again in 2019.
She was set to return once again the following year, however the pandemic halted plans for her to reprise her role as Bianca.
Patsy first appeared on TV in The Gentle Touch in 1984 and then in 1985, when she played Natasha in the children’s drama series, Grange Hill, until 1987.
The TV star, who was born and grew up in Bethnal Green, East London, has previously spoken candidly about her troubled childhood.
She has previously admitted to trying alcohol at eight, sniffing solvents at 11 and even snorting cocaine at just 13.
It was Patsy’s mother who first spotted her acting talent and encouraged her to go to acting school in London. Patsy was bullied at school acting was a form of escape for her.
When she joined the cast of EastEnders, Patsy was a single mother living with her son Charley (pictured)
During her first stint on EastEnders, Bianca’s on-screen marriage to Ricky Butcher [Sid Owen] in 1997 drew one of the biggest soap audiences ever, more than 22 million.
Patsy returned the show for a two-hour special in 2002, where she was reunited with her on-screen beau Ricky in Manchester for the first time in two years.
In 2005, she hit out at the soap and branded its storylines ‘ridiculous’ and ruled out a return to the show, before reprising her role again in 2008.
Patsy’s autobiography was released in the UK on 5 April 2007. In the book, she described her ascent to fame, her struggle with addiction and how she battled to overcome her problems.
The media personality credits some of her drug and drink recovery to husband Richard Merkell, who she married in 2000.
She previously said: ‘He’s given me what I’ve always really wanted – a real family.’
Not long after she married Richard, Patsy gave birth to their first child together, a boy named Fenton, on June 13, 2000.
She quickly had her third child, and Richard’s second, on July 7, 2001 when they welcomed their daughter Emilia.
In December 2010 the couple had another child, a son called Bertie.
Patsy’s autobiography was released in the UK on 5 April 2007
For 10 years, starting in 2004, she lived with her husband and children in Western Terrace and then Kemptown, Brighton, England.
In 2014 the family decided on a lifestyle change and moved their brood from Brighton to Malibu, where they still live now.
As well as making some very A-list pals including Camille Grammer and Cindy Crawford since moving stateside, Patsy has also discovered wellness and meditation.
Late last year, Patsy appeared to have swapped acting for a new passion, as she launched her new wellness page on Instagram, Good and Proper.
Patsy, who appeared to have taken inspiration from lifestyle guru Gwyneth Paltrow, encouraged her followers to ‘take time out’ on her new page.
On Twitter, Patsy posted: ‘I’ve just launched a new page on Instagram to support my new journey.. join me @goodandproperhair.
On her recovery, Patsy reflected ‘It feels so foreign now, I’m so far removed from it…’I couldn’t even do yoga when I was in my 20s because I couldn’t sit still.
‘Right now is the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m always in the now and it’s the only place I want to be.’