The stars whose careers were nearly ruined by Celebrity Big Brother as series returns

WHEN stars from across the UK and beyond sign up to Celebrity Big Brother, they hope it will boost their career and their bank balance. However, for these celebs, a stint in the Big Brother house spelled disaster and almost cost them everything.

Roxanne Pallet

Probably one of the biggest fall-outs in Celebrity Big Brother history involved Roxanne Pallet. The actress made a terrible accusation about fellow housemate Ryan Thomas which left fans enraged. The former soap star shot to fame playing Jo Sugden on Emmerdale.

Before going into the CBB house in 2018, Roxanne was a popular star who had enjoyed stints on other shows like Dancing On Ice, Stars In Their Eyes, and Soapstar Superstar. However, an innocent playfight with former Coronation Street star Ryan Thomas led to the actress accusing him of punching her "like a boxer hits a bag," calling him a "woman beater."

When BB gave him a warning, poor Ryan broke down in tears in the diary room. In fact, footage showed there had barely been any physical contact, and Roxanne had to admit it had all been a "horrible mistake." Over 25,000 people complained to Ofcom leading to a tearful TV confession where she said she was sorry for reacting that way.

The fallout was immense and it saw Roxanne step down from her Minster FM radio job and her upcoming panto role in Cinderella in Chesterfield. In the aftermath, she disappeared from the spotlight. Roxanne has since moved to New York, married a firefighter and had a baby.

Jo O’ Meara

As the lead singer of 90s pop group S Club 7, Jo O’Meara sold 14 million records, toured the world and was about to launch a solo career. But everything changed for the star when she signed up to go on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007.

It came when Jo, along with the late Jade Goody and Danielle Lloyd, were accused of "bullying" Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. The incident made international headlines, was discussed in parliament and led to a police investigation.

Although she has since rebuilt her life and always maintained how sorry she is for what happened, at the time Jo "lost everything" and also suffered a breakdown. She was forced to shelve her music comeback, received death threats and had to be placed in a safe house.

Jo has since reemerged back into the spotlight and rejoined S Club 7.

Christopher Biggins

Much-loved star Christopher Biggins felt the wrath of Big Brother and fans when he appeared on the celebrity spin-off in 2016. Known for nostalgic TV shows like Rentaghost, plus being a regular on the panto scene, Biggins was the nation’s favourite comedy uncle, and reality TV had treated him well.

Prior to his doomed Celebrity Big Brother appearance, he won I’m A Celebrity in 2007 and also was a Celebrity Come Dine With Me champion in 2009. However, Biggins' popularity took a dive when he was removed by producers for describing bisexuals as "the worst type" and making a concentration camp joke to fellow housemate and former The X Factor star Katie Waissel, who is Jewish.

He immediately apologized, and said: "I love Jewish people. Listen, my best friend is [actress] Lesley Joseph. You can’t get much more Jewish than that."

Jeremy Jackson

Next up we have US star Jeremy Jackson, who shot to fame in hit 90s TV show Baywatch. He played Hobie Buchanan from 1991 to 1999 alongside his screen dad David Hasselhoff and stars including Pamela Anderson and Yasmine Bleeth.

However, the actor's time in the Celebrity Big Brother house was so controversial it ended with a police caution. He was thrown out of the 2015 series after he was filmed opening reality star Chloe Goodman's dressing gown. Jeremy has since apologized and expressed regret over what he did, but Hertfordshire Police confirmed he had been cautioned for common assault.

Things then went from bad to worst for the star. In 2017, Jeremy was sentenced to 270 days in jail and five years probation after stabbing a woman during an argument in 2015. However, Jeremy has turned his life around and is clean from drugs and embracing a healthy new lifestyle.

Ken Morley

Jeremy wasn't the only celebrity to be kicked out of the CBB house in 2015. That same series former Coronation Street star Ken Morley was also told to leave by BB bosses. The actor was given the boot immediately after he used the N-word.

Ofcom revealed they'd received more than 200 complaints about his behavior in the house before he was eventually ordered out. Ken was very apologetic for the language he used, and shortly after he left the house he told Loose Women: "I’m aware of the fact I’ve upset a lot of people and I am sorry. Alexander [O’Neal] and I were having discussions. We were great friends."

The actor continued: "I put my hand up and say the word [n****o] shouldn’t be used but it is an old-fashioned word. I apologize unreservedly to everyone who watched that programme. It was banter in an odd situation, but I understand entirely if I have upset people from everywhere in the world – not just from this country but in Africa and the Caribbean. I am not a racist – I have taught black children in London and people everywhere, so I apologize."