WILL Mellor has revealed the moment he was slapped in the face by a furious soap fan on the way to the pub.
The actor, 50, has been a mainstay on the soaps, having got his first big break with a guest appearance on Brookside in 1992.
Will Mellor has revealed he was slapped in the face by a furious soap fan
The actor said a woman slapped him because of his character’s behaviour in Brookside Credit: YOUTUBE/LEWIS NICHOLLS SHOW
He went on to become a series regular on Hollyoaks three years later and has also starred in both EastEnders and Coronation Street.
Will appeared in Brookside for a brief stint for four episodes as a character called Paul Howard.
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His on-screen persona got Leanne Powell (Vickie Gates) pregnant before leaving her in the lurch and leading her to get an abortion.
Passionate soap fans were left fuming over the character’s behaviour and made sure to let it be known when they met Will in real life.
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Recalling the incident on the Lewis Nicholls Show podcast, Will explained: “Well I’m going to the pub one day, going to meet my mates.
“There’s a cut through from my estate to where the pub is and as I’m walking through, there’s an old lady walking towards me.
“And she slapped me so hard across the face. I went, ‘what are you doing?’
“She went, ‘you left that girl pregnant, you’ve left her, you’re a disgrace to your family, you should be ashamed of yourself.’
Will got his big break in Brookside Credit: Channel 4
Will starred in Hollyoaks for 85 episodes Credit: Alamy
“I went, ‘it’s not real you f*****g idiot’, I was fuming. My ear was ringing.
“I got to the pub and they went, ‘what’s happened to you?’ and I go ‘this woman’s just hit me’.
“People believe it, that was my first realisation that people believe what they watch on television, they believe these characters,” Will expressed.
Following his short stint on Brookside, Will went on to star in Hollyoaks as James ‘Jambo’ Bolton, a role he carried out for 85 episodes.
He then starred as a series regular in both Casualty and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
In 2021, he bagged himself a role in Coronation Street as hardman Harvey Gaskell and starred in 53 episodes.
Will played former subpostmaster Lee Castleton in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs. The Post Office in 2024.
The four-part critically-acclaimed series saw him depict Lee in the dramatisation in the real-life Post Office scandal.
