Emmerdale star Lucy Pargeter has admitted she finds it hard to "hold her tongue" after being subjected to vile online abuse.
Lucy - who plays Chas Dingle on the ITV soap - is in the middle of a huge storyline with her on-screen husband Paddy, with the pair set to get a divorce soon after Chas was unfaithful with businessman Al Chapman.
As a result of the storyline, Lucy was subjected to a string of hateful comments from angry fans, slamming her character's behaviour. She admits it can be tough not responding to some of the trolling she receives online.
In her Q&A on Twitter, she was asked: "I have nothing but praise for actors on soaps because you all work so hard, but how do you manage the negativity as there seems to be more and more and ignoring a lot of it must be so hard."
Lucy then replied to say: "The hard thing is holding my tongue."
The actress said her recent storyline with Al sparked huge backlash with fans and her character quickly became "hated".
Lucy previously told The Mirror: "People are really, really not liking them together and you have got the cheerleaders for Al and Chas, but you've definitely got the absolute haters for Chas, and what she is doing to Paddy and the reasons behind what she is doing with Al. I hate what she's doing. We were never gonna win people over to Al and Chas when Paddy was involved.
"You have to [believe it.] Over the years, the amount of stories that have been pitched and given to you that are a massive gift to have, but not all the time do you believe it. Not all the time can you justify it as yourself."
She added of her own feelings towards You have to put yourself in the character's position and go okay it’s being pitched to me, this is what I've got to do, I have to try to believe it. I don't have to necessarily like it personally, but as an actress or actor you have to find truth in it and just trust what your character has been given."
Her co-star Dominic Brunt - who plays Paddy Dingle - also spoke out in support of his co-star.
Taking to Twitter, Dominic said: "Wow!!. People still being pretty damned cruel and personal towards my dear friend @lucyparge. IT’S A STORY. Lucy has selflessly played this story for all it’s worth.
"Knowing she/Chas would be disrespected and insulted on social media, and STILL hit all the beats. Amazing actress."
