Katie McGlynn has confessed that she received death threats over her character’s racist and controversial comments throughout her time on Hollyoaks.
The 28-year-old – who joined the Channel 4 soap last summer as Becky Quentin – was hit with a wave of abuse after her character started to voice her prejudicial opinions throughout the village.
During her time on the long-standing show, it was later revealed that her character Becky was an anti-vaxxer after the outbreak of the pandemic and displayed sinophobic tendencies.
Since she left the soap, the actress has revealed that trolls sent her hateful messages online asking her to “go die” and “watch out” as the show shed light on Becky’s extreme views.
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In a recent interview with The Sun, the explained that she knew her character would be widely hated on TV but didn’t expect the level of hateful messages online.
She told the publication: “I’ve played bitchy characters before but I’ve never played anyone as controversial or extreme as Becky. I knew from the start that she was going to generate a lot of hate.”
Luckily the actress described herself as “pretty thick-skinned” and managed to take the vile messages with a heavy pinch of salt.
(Image: Channel 4)
“There was one saying, ‘I have Becky so much. She’s so vile and bigoted – I’m going to hunt you down’, which was a bit alarming. Others told me I should watch out because they were coming to get me.”
While she was on the soap, Katie would usually delete or block hateful trolls online, and explained how she saw the negativity as an indicator that she was doing her job properly.
“Everyone is meant to hate Becky, so we got it right,” she said.
(Image: Channel 4)
Across the year and a half that she was on the show, the blonde bombshell would often spread conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 vaccine throughout the village – which only angered users more.
Katie went on: “I knew from the start what Becky was going to be like and where the storyline was headed. I wanted to do it because it highlights conspiracy theories, fake news and racism.”
(Image: Channel 4)
By taking on this role, the northern actress hoped that she could dispel many of the rumours and lies about the pandemic over the last few years.
The starlet branded the hateful messages she received daily as her “badge of honour” to open viewers’ eyes to the wave of racism around them.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
