Actor Kieran Richardson, who plays Hollyoaks favourite Ste Hay, has opened up about his decision to leave social media site Twitter due to trolling.
Kieron had previously revealed that he faced criticism from followers over his controversial storyline in the Channel 4 soap.
Kieron’s character Ste is currently involved in a radicalisation storyline, which this week sees him help Jonny (Ray Quinn) organise an illegal far-right march.
However, opening up to OK! magazine, Kieron revealed that, while he can cope with comments directed at him about his work, he draws the line when trolls target his children.
The actor is dad to two-year-old twins Chase and Phoebe with husband Carl Hyland.
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He said: “I had people saying things like: ‘You’re teaching your kid to be racist. You’re an irresponsible parent.’ I just couldn’t deal with people saying things about my kids.”
Husband Carl revealed that reading the comments made him want to hit back.
He said: “When I see those comments, I want to retaliate but then I’m becoming a keyboard warrior myself and I don’t want to do that.”
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The actor ended up leaving the social network and has also turned off the comment function on most of his Instagram posts.
As Ent Daily previously reported, he told the Daily Star: “I deleted my Twitter because people were hating on me.”
He added: “I was then trying to water down my performance as I didn’t want to offend people, but that is the wrong way to do it.”
Kieron and Carl also spoke about the shock they felt when they welcomed their twins via a surrogate back in 2017.
The actor told OK!: “With surrogacy, you go from a full night’s sleep to: ‘You’ve got two kids, now do it.'”
Admitting that at first they were keen to try for a third baby straight away, the pair now say they’re keen to wait until the twins are a bit more “self-sufficient”.
What do you think about social media trolls forcing the popular actor off of Twitter? Head over to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.