Sad Oompa Loompa is dreaming of Hollywood one year on from infamous Willy Wonka event

The woman who went viral as a disheveled ‘Meth head’ Oompa Loompa has revealed how her life has been transformed one year on. Kirsty Paterson, 30, became the face of the botched and ‘chaotic’ Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience in Glasgow which was shut down by police after parent backlash.

The Scottish actress was initially trolled for her role in the event, but now has her sights on a Hollywood career after winning worldwide fame. She is even filming a documentary with Emmy-winning filmmaker Todd Bieber about her transformation from budding actress to TV star.

Talking about the infamous picture that captured her at the event, Kirsty told Metro: ‘I was contemplating my life behind that table. It was a really crap moment. ‘A lot of things have progressed since then, it has been crazy.’. The trained actress explains that she took up the two day job with the ill-fated Willy’s Chocolate Experience because she needed the £500 cash.

However, when Kirsty turned up at the almost empty warehouse for a rehearsal the night before, she ‘knew something wasn’t right’. Her instinct proved correct when the £35-a-head experience descended into a farce on February 25 2024 the next day, with things becoming so ‘chaotic’ four police vans were needed to restore order.

Families said they were promised an ‘enchanted garden containing giant sweets and mysterious sculptures’ and a ‘paradise of sweets’. Instead Kirsty was dressed up as an unkempt Oompa Loompa and rationed to handing out two jelly babies per child.

Kirsty said: ‘I was doing cartwheels and dancing. The organiser told us to abandon the script. ‘I was really frustrated, I was trying the best with these jelly beans and they had no jelly beans left. ‘One parent got angry and the other parents got angry and it was just chaos. It was horrendous.

‘I wasn’t happy either cause my name was attached with this event that went bad.’. ‘People were kicking off like crazy outside. There were four police vans.’. It took two days for the event to go viral, when Kirsty said was first ‘slandered online’ by trolls who thought she was in charge of the event.

Then supportive parents at the event released nicer pictures praising Kirsty and showing her being kind to their underwhelmed kids. ‘That is when it all turned around,’ Kirsty said. The picture of Kirsty stuck behind a ‘meth lab’ table was seen around the globe and catapulted the Scot into a global star overnight.

Broadway Producer Richard Kraft took the disastrous event and turned it into a musical at Edinburgh Fringe, which Kirsty starred in last summer. There are now discussions about upgrading the musical, titled Willy’s Candy Spectacular and directed by She’s the Man filmmaker Andy Fickman, into a West End or Broadway show.

Kirsty was even invited on the Last Leg’s New Years eve programme, where she played the Oompa Loompa and even fire performed, one of her other talents. The now famous actress says she even has offers to take part in multiple reality TV shows. She said: ‘‘What’s happened to me isn’t normal. I am born to do TV, acting, performing’.

‘Everyone’s kind of like thinks I’ve been handed everything. I actually haven’t been handed anything. I’ve done so Much work to get to this point. ‘It has been such a marmite experience, at the start it was so bad. It was shocking for my mental health. I was so overwhelmed.’.

‘Now I’m so proud of myself with what I have achieved. One year on from the nightmare day at the Wonka event, Kirsty is filming and pitching a documentary with Emmy award-winning filmmaker Todd Bieber, which will showcase the highs and lows her life since she went viral.

Kirsty is now ready to move on and even has her sights set on landing a Hollywood acting role. The 30-year-old said: ‘It gave me a name, but I am so ready to move on from it. I know I’m talented. ‘The goal would be to get a real role. Obviously the big goal would be Hollywood.

‘I have to be realistic but I am confident I am going to get there.’. Alongside pitching her documentary, she has also been using fitness, yoga and art to recover from the international attention she has garnered. ‘I can’t believe it’s been a year,’ Kirsty added.

‘It feels strange that it’s been a year. It feels a wee bit like a fever dream at times. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: Everyone is losing their head over hooded snoods – and the best alternatives to a scarf and hat combo.

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