You don’t often hear about highly educated professionals taking a break from their careers to go on a reality TV show, but that’s what Roxanne Hamedi did before bursting on the scene as a rising reality TV star. Roxanne is a 29-year-old pharmacist born in Aberdeen, Scotland, to Iranian immigrants. As a result, she’s bilingual and well-versed in Farsi and English. Unlike most reality TV participants, she had a thriving career before going on one of the UK’s most iconic reality TV shows, Geordie Shore. However, it’s important to remember that she never imagined it would become a full-time career for her. Instead, she only saw it as an exciting opportunity and a holiday.
Understanding Roxanne’s stint on the show and its impact on her life requires learning more about her background. Becoming a pharmacist wasn’t simple. The process was long and required attending university for five years and obtaining a Master’s degree. A caring and sensitive soul who wanted to give back to the community and help others around her, becoming a pharmacist seemed like the right career path for her. However, she also wanted to experience new opportunities, especially since she had spent so long studying for her profession and then spent six years practicing it.
Roxanne Hamedi was already working as a pharmacist when she moved to London to live with her now ex-boyfriend. This move would cascade the start of her journey as a reality TV star because while the pair broke up eventually, TV producers began scouting on her Instagram. Someone approached her and asked if she liked partying and was single. As someone young and recently out of a relationship, she said yes, as most twenty-something-year-olds would. The pharmacist still didn’t know what she was being scouted for or which network this producer worked for, but she went along for the ride.
The TV producer scheduled a few Zoom calls to assess this young girl’s personality further to see if she would fit the reality TV format. Eventually, she was invited to London to meet with network executives who informed her about the show she was being considered for – Geordie Shore. Geordie Shore is a staple in the United Kingdom and extremely popular. Roxanne Hamedi recalls beaming with joy and excitement once network executives mention the show’s name. A few weeks later, she received another call telling her to pack her bags and take a taxi from London to Newcastle. She would quarantine for two weeks before filming for four weeks. Filming would wrap up in the summer of 2021 for the 22nd season of Geordie Shore. Network executives had also decided to alter the show’s format to introduce new twists and turns for the audience.
As a result, the series was called ‘Hot Single Summer’ and would feature an eclectic mix of original cast members and normal people. The original cast members would select ordinary people to partner with, and there would be eliminations every few days to remove single, ordinary people who weren’t partnered with an original cast member. Although Roxanne was new to reality TV, she gelled in seamlessly, behaving like a natural on camera. Moreover, she performed admirably on the show, partnering with James Tindale, an original cast member. The pair would remain coupled from the beginning until the end. In addition, she was the only normal person to stay in the house from start to finish until Tindale asked her to be his girlfriend. In short, she had essentially won the show.
Tindale and the pharmacist-turned-artist would also see each other after the show ended. But unfortunately, things would soon end after she realized Tindale had a girlfriend throughout Geordie Shore’s filming. The experience was harrowing for Roxanne because she would receive vitriol from trolls online, despite not being at fault for Tindale’s deception. Regardless, all’s well that ends well. Geordie Shore producers were so impressed with her performance that they asked her to return for season 23, and she accepted. As a result, what initially seemed like an all-expenses paid holiday quickly became a career spanning over two years. However, Roxanne Hamedi has no regrets because she likes reality TV. After all, it allows her to express her alter ego and have fun.
