AN Emmerdale star has clapped back at fan backlash branding their character as ‘stupid’.
Daisy Campbell, 21, has been playing Amelia Spencer since joining the cast in 2011.
The character is currently involved in one of the ITV soap’s most high-profile storylines.
Speaking to The Mirror, the actress defended Amelia amid viewers calling her “stupid” – having entered a relationship with abusive Tom King (James Chase).
Soap fans were horrified as Tom physically and mentally abused wife Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) over several months – until she finally broke free of their relationship.
Discussing her role at The Inside Soap Awards, Daisy shared: “There’s a 10 year age gap between Amelia and Tom and she’s vulnerable.
“When I think of Amelia, she’s never happy, she’s always got sad storylines and she’s always very vulnerable.
“I think he’s got her where he wants her – she’s not seeing it right now because he’s an older man.”
Daisy continued: “You know what it’s like when you’re younger and you’re dating someone who’s two years older than you and you’re like ‘Oh my god!’
“She sees him as a man and someone who can protect her so she’s not really seeing that abusive side.
“I think he’s got to tread carefully because he doesn’t want to get Amelia to realise because Amelia’s the only one on his side right now.”
Recent scenes saw Belle retaliate against her cruel ex by striking him with an axe.
However, it was later revealed that Tom was still alive, having fled and was later found by Dr. Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson).
In addition, Daisy admitted she would like to see Amelia soon realise what kind of person Tom really is.
She shared: “I’m reading the scripts and I’m like, ‘Come on, you’ve got to pull through for Belle’. So hopefully we’ll see some of that.”
Addressing whether Amelia could find herself in danger moving forward, the actress revealed: “I wouldn’t say she’s in danger but keep watching because it’s a soap! There’s always twists and turns.
Everything you need to know about Emmerdale
“But for now she’s under his wing unfortunately. I mean, I love working with James but his character Tom has where he wants her and at the moment it’s that kind of manipulation stage and that’s what we do so well.”
She concluded: “It goes on for quite a while – this has been going on for a year, which is good because it’s what happens in real life, unfortunately.
“So we’ll see what he tries to do with Amelia.”
Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.
