'EastEnders' actress Annette Badland received death threats from fans who hated her character Aunt Babe Smith.
Annette Badland as Aunt Babe
Annette played her wicked alter ego on-and-off from January 2014 until February 2017 and her vile deeds included her helping Shirley Carter to shoot Phil Mitchell, arranging for Mick Carter to be brought up as Sylvie’s son rather than Shirley’s child, blackmailing Les Coker over his cross-dressing secret and even selling babies in an illegal adoption business as a younger woman.
Annette loved playing a villain in the BBC One soap but she admits she was left “frightened” when some viewers began to send in death threats claiming they were going to punish Babe for her behaviour.
Speaking on the 'Distinct Nostalgia' podcast, she said: “It’s the only part I’ve played where people didn’t go, ‘Oh, I can’t remember your name but I liked you in that thing the other night.’ Or, ‘You’re Annette aren’t you? I didn’t think that thing you were in was very good.’ For EastEnders it was, ‘Babe! Alright Babe! How’s Babe today? How are you doing Babe? Aren’t you a one.’ That was very different for me, I’d never ever had that before, that people really thought you were the person.
“Most people loved her and enjoyed the naughtiness of it. But towards the end I did have death threats. Which is very shocking and frightening. It’s a tricky thing, isn’t it. You go, ‘Oh, well, this is wonderful that people think that she is real,’ and go with it and enjoy it. Then you go oh right, there’s some people who do go with it and don’t enjoy it and it offends them, or they think it’s real and they want revenge. The police were involved. You don’t tell anyone where you’re going, you always have a phone ... I was quite frightened for a bit and you just have to kind of go about your life and hope for the best.”
Babe was eventually banished by the Carters for her evil actions and was seen cursing the family after she was thrown out of the Queen Vic pub by Mick (Danny Dyer).
Despite the death threats, the 70-year-old actress would be up for a return as Babe as long as her safety could be assured by producers.
Annette said: “She could return ... It would make me cautious, but I’d love to go in for a story and see them all again and rattle their cages. I would have to take a deep breath and think about but it would be lovely to go and be with them all again. You see, she cursed them. You don’t cross Babe."
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