Michelle Hardwick thanks fans for support after receiving homophobic abuse online
Emmerdale star Michelle Hardwick has thanked fans for their support after she received homophobic abuse from an online troll.
The actress, who plays Vanessa Woodfield in the ITV soap, posted a screenshot of the vile comments she received on Instagram and posted them on her Twitter account, showing that a user named Michael had called her a "d**e" and a "l**bo", among other insults.
Beside the screenshot, she wrote, "Come on, show us who you really are... I dare you!"
Replying to the post, Michelle's wife Kate Brooks, who is a producer on Emmerdale, joked about how outdated his slurs were, writing, "Hi 'Michael', the original Prisoner Cell Block H called from 1985 - they'd really like their insults back. Thanks a mill."
After they received an outpouring of support from their followers, Michelle returned to social media to thank her fans for their messages.
"Overwhelmed by all your beautiful supportive messages," she wrote against a rainbow-coloured background. "I honestly don't take it to heart, I just like to highlight it every so often. Thank you to every single person who took the time to message me whether I know you personally or not. I promise I'll read them all."
Michelle revealed earlier this year that she had once reported a troll to the police after the user sent her death threats.
The actress and producer married in 2019 and welcomed their first child together - a boy named Edward - in October last year.
