Star outnumbered by ‘misrepresentation’ of side hustle selling underwear

On By Littum

The Outnumbered cast poses with their arms around each other
An underdog star has spoken about the impact of growing up in the public eye (Image: BBC/ Hat Trick/ Colin Hutton)

A former child star who appeared on Outnumbered has hit out at claims she previously sold her old underwear online.

From 2007 to 2016, Ramona Marquez played Karen Brockman in the BBC sitcom, joining the show when she was just five years old.

She played the youngest daughter of couple Pete and Sue Brockman (played by Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner), while her older brothers Ben and Jake were played by Daniel Roche and Tyger Drew-Honey.

Ramona exploded onto the screens when she asked, ‘Dad, what’s up?’, one of her first lines in the pilot episode.

Over the following years, viewers watched her grow up before their eyes on screens, but the 23-year-old has now spoken about the pressures of being in the public eye from such a young age.

‘I have never known otherwise. I was so young. I have some memories from before I was five, but not many. I hear of other cases on TV where young children were taken advantage of and I feel lucky that we were always respected,’ she said.

The picture shows: Karen (RAMONA MARQUEZ). ?? Hat Trick Productions / BBC TX: BBC One WARNING: Use of this copyright image is subject to the BBC Pictures Terms of Use?? BBC Digital Picture Service. In particular, this image may only be published in print for editorial use during the advertising period (the weeks immediately leading up to and including the broadcast week of the program or event in question and three notification weeks thereafter) for the purpose of publicizing the programme, person or service depicted and provided that the BBC and copyright- the owner in the caption is credited. Any use of this image on the Internet and other online communication services requires a separate prior agreement with BBC Pictures. For any other purpose, including advertising and commercial, prior written approval of the copyright holder is required.
Ramona Marquez played Karen across the six seasons of the comedy series (Image: Hat Trick Productions)

However away from the set, Ramona faced intense scrutiny from the tabloids, with an article in 2021 declaring she ‘sold her old BRAS for £4 after stopping performing for uni’.

In reality, she had simply set up a Depop account to earn some extra cash by selling hundreds of clothes and a sports bra while studying Spanish and Mandarin at Manchester University.

Ramona reflected on the particular headline: ‘I sold a sports bra. It wasn’t even mine. I had never seen it before. It must have just been my sister’s or something, who knows, and then it was in the news’.

Outnumbered stars burned
She recently graduated from university (Image: Ramona Marquez/ Instagram)

‘And it was such a misrepresentation. It was just a crazy, crazy thing to write.

“There wouldn’t be anything wrong with that if I wanted to, but actually I’m not, so let’s just keep the facts straight,” she added when speaking to The independent.

But Ramona said she found the attention she’s received over the years “pretty funny,” adding that she might just be “desensitized” to it now.

While starring in Outnumbered, the actress also appeared in the 2009 film Enid, about the life of Enid Blyton, and the 2010 film The King’s Speech as young Princess Margaret.

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The Brockman family are back for a Christmas special from 2024 (Image: BBC/ Hat Trick Productions/ Adam Lawrence)
Undated BBC Handout Photo from Outnumbered. Pictured: Karen (RAMONA MARQUEZ). PA function SHOWBIZ TV Quickfire outnumbered. WARNING: This image may only be used to accompany the PA???Feature SHOWBIZ TV Quickfire Outnumbered. PA photo. Image credit should be: BBC/Hat Trick Productions/Adam Lawrence. NOTE TO EDITORS: This image may only be used to accompany the PA Feature SHOWBIZ TV Quickfire Outnumbered. WARNING: Use of this copyright image is subject to the terms of use of BBC Pictures' BBC Digital Picture Service. In particular, this image may only be published in print for editorial use during the advertising period (the weeks immediately leading up to and including the broadcast week of the program or event in question and three notification weeks thereafter) for the purpose of publicizing the programme, person or service depicted and provided that the BBC and copyright- the owner in the caption is credited. Any use of this image on the Internet and other online communication services requires a separate prior agreement with BBC Pictures. For any other purpose, including advertising and commercial, prior written approval of the copyright holder is required.
It’s Ramona’s first screen appearance in six years (Image: BBC/ Hat Trick Productions/ Adam Lawrence)

However, she has not been seen on screen for eight years, since the last Christmas special in Outnumbered in 2016.

But Ramona is now keen to return to acting after completing her degree and working on the latest Christmas episode, saying it was her ‘complete passion and ambition’.

Outnumbered ran for five seasons from 2007 to 2014 and was praised for its realistic portrayal of family life.

After eight years off screen, the new episode is set at Christmas and follows the Brockman family as they deal with the challenges of parenting grown children who all have their own lives and issues to deal with now.

Outnumbered is sent on Boxing Day at 9.40pm on BBC One.

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