When you’re the face of one of EastEnders’ most unforgettable villains, fame can come with a sinister twist. Annette Badland, who brought the cunning and cold-hearted Aunt Babe to life, recently opened up about the chilling death threats she received at the peak of her character’s reign of terror. It looks like fans weren’t able to draw the line between fiction and reality, proving the intensity of her craft. Keep scrolling to know more!
EastEnders icon Annette Badland has revealed she was forced to ‘live in hiding’ after her soap villain portrayal sparked death threats against her. Long-time viewers know that the actress played the role of Aunt Babe, Mick Carter’s on-screen wicked aunt who might be facing backlash because of her character’s heinous actions. This includes baby farming, blackmail, and leaving her sister Sylvie for dead.
The 74-year-old confessed that even though she loved her role on the BBC soap, the intense hate from fans for Aunt Babe crossed lines, with some of them sending disturbing death threats. While speaking to Reach PLC, Badland explained, “It’s always good to place villains. It’s intriguing, though it has its consequences in a soap because I did get death threats at the end.”
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She also talked about how people sometimes cannot draw the lines between fiction and reality and how they don’t know you’re acting. She recalled, “It subsided after about a month, but the security at the Beeb got involved, the police, they were saying, ‘Don’t tell anyone where you’re going, don’t go out too much,’ don’t do this, don’t do that.” Annette also talked about how she was scared about all of it initially, as tracking the haters was also tricky.
Furthermore, the soap legend also shed light on whether she’ll ever return to the BBC programme. She said, “I’d go for a storyline or something.” Badland also mentioned that she might not commit for a long period but never say never. For more such updates on EastEnders, keep following Soap Opera Daily! Did you like Aunt Babe’s character on the show? Tell us in the comments below!
