A WORLD AWAY FROM WALFORD
Ex-EastEnders star Patsy Palmer shows off her stunning LA mansion after launching new career as a DJ
PATSY Palmer has traded Albert Square for a beach-front Los Angeles mansion.
The former EastEnders actress showed off her Californian pad on today's Lorraine, complete with pool, sun loungers and a sea view.
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After giving viewers a glimpse of her home's posh exterior, the former Walford powerhouse then took presenter Ross King inside for a chat about her move across the pond.
Sitting in plush chairs, with an elaborate glass dining table behind them and a large well-lit living room visible through an archway, Patsy, 45, explained why she decided to make the leap and move to Hollywood.
She said: "I just felt where else would I go? I always wanted to go somewhere, and I lost my dad, I lost my stepdad, and I did have a lightbulb moment then that 'this is it, this really is it' so make your mind up, do what you want.
"The only place I can go where the kids can sort of have a nice beachy life is here because I'm an actress, what else do I do?"
Patsy - who has four children including son's Charley, Fenton and Bertie as well as daughter Emilia - explained how it "wasn't really easy" to get an agent when she first arrived, and then ended up with one who she "didn't particularly like very much".
She said: "They're very harsh... then I thought 'what if I gave it up for a while?' and I have and I really enjoyed doing that.
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"My life's always been a little bit like a rollercoaster, I don't think I was born to have a normal life.
"I think I've found a balance in my life, but that's only because I've got older not because I live here."
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Patsy - who moved to America with second husband Richard Merkell - now works as a successful DJ but still manages to enjoy a level of anonymity she could never achieve back in the UK.
She said: "It was a little bit strange getting used to the idea you're not 'on show' everywhere you walk about, you don't have to be ready to speak to someone about Eastenders.
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"You can go out and just completely be yourself, it's kind of weird, it is something you probably need therapy for, though I haven't gone down that route since I've been here but everyone does."
Patsy first appeared in the BBC soap n 1993 before leaving in 1999 to focus on her family.
She made a triumphant return in 2008 before departing again in 2014, and right now she doesn't have any plans to return to Walford, although she would like to resume acting.
She said: "Of course I'm going to want to do it and I do want to do it, but right now that's just the way it's gone.
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"I honestly really don't miss [EastEnders], I love all my friends there.
"I was always very grateful to be there."
Patsy also revealed her children are following in her footsteps, with eldest son Charley, 25, starring in Legend alongside Tom Hardy in 2015.
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She added: "My kids are looking like they want do it. Fenton [17] now wants to do it, he's got an agent.
"Charley is doing it... I should trade places with Charley! He’s 25 now, he’s a man. He’s done incredible things.'
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