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EastEnders' Babe Smith actress Annette Badland faced 'very upsetting' death threats
EastEnders actress Annette Badland, who used to play Babe Smith on the popular BBC One show, opened up about the death threats she used to receive in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk.The star, who has since gone on to portray the hit character Fleur Perkins in Midsomer Murders, admitted she found the ordeal “very upsetting”.Annette, 71, played Babe Smith on EastEnders for three years after being cast in December 2013.Babe was involved in some controversial storylines, including one about baby farming.The character also blackmailed Les Coker (Roger Sloman) during her time on the show and even encouraged Abit Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald) to fake a pregnancy.Annette explained how some viewers who had been watching the soap for years were unable to separate the actress from the character, revealing that she even got death threats.“With EastEnders, some people think that’s real!” she said.“It was the first part I played where people didn’t stop me in the street and say, ‘I can’t remember your name but I liked what you did last night’. “Instead, they would call out, ‘Babe! It’s Babe isn’t it?’”“And you just think, ‘Wow, they really think…’“Because you’re in their home so much, they think it’s reality and towards the end I had death threats.”She went on to suggest that the reason people sent her such horrible messages was “because people really believe” the storylines in the show. “They invest so much in the characters because they’re in their homes all the time,” Annette explained. When asked how the threat made her feel she replied: “Yeah, it was very upsetting.”However, Annette is now delighted to be in her new role as Fleur in Midsomer Murders, who she began playing back in 2019.She also expressed her fondness for
