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Thomas Atkinson’s bum slapped by OAP

Thomas Atkinson had his bum smacked by an "old woman" in a shopping centre because of his ‘Emmerdale’ character’s crimes.
The 19-year-old star – who plays serial killer Lachlan White in the ITV soap – found it "weird" when he was struck on the derriere by an OAP while out and about doing some shopping, but also admitted he "loved it".
He said: "It’s normally old women calling me a ‘naughty boy.’ I had an old woman smack my bum in the Trafford Centre, which was really weird.
"But it was great – I loved it."
While Lachlan has already bumped off four other ‘Emmerdale’ characters, Thomas has dropped a huge hint that his alter-ego’s reign of terror is not yet over.
When asked if he is prepared to keep killing to keep hold of significant other Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper), he said: "Maybe … I don’t know.
"He’s already killed four people.
"He’s not thinking of that [getting found out], he’s done well until now. He’s scared, but he’s not thinking about whether he’s going to get caught."
Lachlan’s latest dark ways have seen him kidnap his aunt Rebecca White (Emily Head) and imprison her in a stinky shack deep in the woods.
However, Priya Sharma (Fiona Wade) starts to become suspicious about Lachlan when she sees him hanging around the dingy dwelling – which Thomas hinted could be the biggest mistake of her life.
When asked if Priya is in danger, he replied: "Yeah, definitely. Anyone that is messing with is safety and his relationship with Belle potentially is not going to have a great ending."
The actor enjoys portraying a killer, but is keen to take on different roles later in his career.
He added: "I love [playing a baddie]. It’s a lot of fun. It’s different.
"The whole point of acting is you don’t want to play the same character over and over again."