Emmerdale fans have been left disgusted by Laurel Thomas – and haven’t been afraid to tell her.
Actress Charlotte Bellamy has revealed that fans have been stopping her in the street to share their disgust of her character’s actions as she continues her affair with Bob Hope.
Viewers watched shocked last year after it was revealed Laurel and Bob had had a shock one night stand as Emma Barton was being murdered by Moira.
But with their brief night of passion growing into an almost fully-fledged affair, fans have turned on the formerly loveable widow of vicar Ashley.
Charlotte told press at a recent press day: “People are disgusted with me. Absolutely.
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“People sidle up to me in Waitrose or wherever and say: ‘You’re gonna get caught. I can’t believe you’re doing that.’
“People are quite judgemental actually, which is good. Any reaction is a good reaction, isn’t it really?”
But fortunately for Charlotte, she’s enjoying playing Laurel’s darker side.
She said: “I just play the truth of it. I think that you can’t play a character the whole time being good, because it’s actually ultimately quite boring.
“Your character has to keep evolving. In life, your friend might have an affair, but it doesn’t meant they’re suddenly a bad person. You would want to support them.
“But it is a soap and we are playing characters. Your character goes up and down all the time and I think it’s a lot more interesting to play that.”
But Charlotte did defend Laurel against the criticism, explaining that Laurel had spent years being a carer for Ashley before his death to dementia.
She said: “Obviously she’s been a carer, hasn’t she? She’s been looking after her husband for years, so for her to have somebody interested in her has brought alive something in her that she maybe didn’t think she had.
“Bob makes her feel good and she’s only human.
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“I don’t think Laurel is really thinking ahead. She does say on numerous occasions that she doesn’t want to wreck a family. They’ve got kids and she’s got kids, so I think she’s just living in the moment.
“She knows everything about it is wrong, but she can’t help herself.”
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