Former 'EastEnders' star Jacqueline Jossa has to deal with trolls every day.

Jacqueline Jossa

Jacqueline Jossa

The 26-year-old actress is bombarded with hateful comments on social media all the time, with the messages often being about her figure, and the abuse began from the first time she appeared in the BBC One soap as Lauren Branning when she was just 17.

Speaking to New! magazine, she said: "For me, trolling is an everyday occurrence. I've become accustomed to it over the years - it affected more when I was younger. I received online abuse from the second I joined 'EastEnders' in 2010.

"I can't remember specifics but I get nasty comments about my weight. You have to have a thick skin, but I don't like it when someone says something negative about my talent or something I've worked really hard for. I don't reply unless the trolls target my children."

Jacqueline - who shares daughters Ella, four, and 15-month-old Mia, with her husband Dan Osbourne - believes that the trolls' hatred is fuelled by insecurities about their own lives.

And she believes the situation will only get worse if harsher punishments are not introduced to tackle the problem.

Jacqueline said: "I almost want to say to them, 'I feel sorry for you, are you OK? Do you have people to talk to?' A normal human doesn't do that stuff. Maybe they don't have the right people around them? I don't know.

"Sadly, trolling will only get worse if there are no consequences. The trolls need to be held accountable."