Sarah-Jane Honeywell has opened up about the fallout from a 2011 photoshoot that abruptly ended her decade-long career in children’s television and plunged her into years of financial hardship.
The presenter, best known for shows such as Tikkabilla, ZingZillas, and Mighty Mites, said her collaboration with animal rights group PETA changed her life in ways she never expected. Hoping to raise awareness about animal cruelty, Honeywell posed topless for the campaign, but the reaction from her employers was immediate and devastating.
“The BBC was asked to comment on the pictures, and they simply said I no longer worked for them,” she recalled in an interview with The Sun. “That was how I found out. There was never a phone call or a single conversation with my bosses – despite me having worked there for 10 years. I was completely devastated that the career I loved was over.”
The campaign also featured Honeywell in a tiny vest covered in Diet Coke, as well as lying on a giant plate of food alongside chips and peas to promote vegetarianism. She explained how the topless element was added at the last minute: “They said I could wear a bra and pants, so I got some flesh-coloured ones, and I was asked to lie down on a giant plate of food. As I got in position, they asked me to take my bra off because it’d get loads more news coverage. I thought, ‘OK, I’m helping a good cause’ and I didn’t really see what was wrong with it. They’re just boobs and they were covered with my hands.”
But once the images resurfaced in national newspapers, her reputation in the industry collapsed. “I couldn’t get any auditions because people didn’t take me seriously and just passed me off as a children’s TV weirdo. Financially it was an absolute disaster,” she admitted.
The financial strain was so severe that Honeywell said she was unable to heat her home. “A few years ago I didn’t put my heating on at all over the winter because it had gone up so much – I just could not afford to put my heating on,” she shared.
Life grew even more difficult after she and her husband, actor Ayden Callaghan—best known for his role as Joe Roscoe in Hollyoaks—were forced to move into her parents’ garage. “We lost everything,” she said. “We were forced to live in the garage of my parents’ home for three years. As well as losing my job at CBeebies, I had also been through a breakup and it left my financial situation in ruins.”
Reflecting on that period, she added: “Ayden and I both worked really hard all our lives, and then we suddenly found ourselves living in this tiny space with two children.”
Honeywell also criticized cancel culture, reminding the public that celebrities are human beings. Much like John Cleese has argued in the past, she pointed out that mistakes shouldn’t overshadow the fact that behind the headlines are real people dealing with real consequences.
