Ricky Champ says EastEnders viewers have been berating him in his local supermarket since his character targeted Dr. Harold Legg.
The 38-year-old actor has been getting some “looks” in Tesco since his alter-ego Stuart Highway turned his calculating ways towards the legendary Walford medic – played by Leonard Fenton – and he has also been bashed by people who have said they “can’t stand” him, which he takes as a “backhanded compliment”.
He said: “I loved playing alongside Leonard and June [Brown (Dot Cotton)], they both bring a wealth of experience to the table, and I was really proud to be sharing the screen with two people I grew up watching.
“I’ve had a few looks about it all in Tesco.
“What I found with the Dr. Legg stuff is that the people were even more like, ‘I can’t stand you.’ All those backhanded compliments are pretty cool.”
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While Ricky sees it as a positive that he is making an impact as evil Stuart, he will not let his 16-month-old daughter Beatrix – who he shares with wife Samantha – tune into the BBC One soap, because she is too young to understand the difference between fact and fiction.
He said: “My daughter doesn’t really understand the concept of her daddy being on the television, and I’ve actually shielded her from seeing me being angry on screen.
“In real life I’m such a sweetheart, so she’d be like: ‘It’s daddy, but it’s not daddy.’ ”
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Ricky has been nominated for Best Newcomer prize at the National TV Awards against Hollyoaks’ Aedan Duckworth (Ollie Morgan), Coronation Street actress Alexandra Mardell (Emma Brooker), Emmerdale’s James Moore (Ryan Stocks), Casualty’s Neet Mohan (Dr Rashid Masum) and Doctors actor Daniel Kerr (James Coulter), and the Walford wonder is “very proud” of the nod.
He added to the Daily Star newspaper: “I’m very proud of the work I’ve done, so it’s very cool to get that recognition, after only a year in Albert Square.”
EastEnders airs Monday and Friday at 8pm and Tuesday and Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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