Ali Bastian was "shouted at in supermarkets" because of her role in ‘Hollyoaks’.
The 38-year-old actress played teacher Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap between 2001 and 2007, and Ali has admitted that her on-screen relationship with student Justin Burton prompted a strong reaction from fans of the show.
Ali said: "I think the fantastic thing – and remains to be the fantastic thing – about ‘Hollyoaks’ is that I think they go for it with storylines, and break new ground.
"I mean, at the time I don’t think anyone had tackled a storyline like that – putting the female character, the teacher, in a position of power. I don’t think anyone had seen it played out in that way."
Ali can still recall fans of the soap being "really invested" in the controversial storyline at the time.
She told Metro.co.uk: "As an actor, it was really exciting and challenging to be part of that. It was really interesting at the time, I got shouted at in supermarkets!
"People were really invested in it. The way ‘Hollyoaks’ cleverly weaved the story, it constantly challenged people’s perceptions.
"That was a storyline that really changed the shape of my career. I’m really really grateful to them, and to [executive producer] Bryan Kirkwood for going for it, really.
"It’s a storyline that happened over such a long period of time and we had different producers in, and one moment they were like, ‘Yes, let’s go for this story,’ and then we’d have other producers in and they’d say, ‘No, actually we’re going to back right off this’.
"Bryan came in on board and was like ‘We’re going to go for this – really go for it.’ I think it was a really important time for the show, and sort of marked a new era so it was very exciting to be a part of that."