Maddy Hill as Nancy Carter
Maddy Hill was surprised by the reaction the Carter family got upon joining EastEnders.
The actress - who has earned a Best Newcomer nomination for her role as Nancy Carter at the British Soap Awards - admits she prepared for the worst when she joined the BBC One soap last year with Danny Dyer (Mick Carter), Kellie Bright (Linda) and Sam Strike (Johnny), as soap fans notoriously give new characters a hard time.
She recalled: "The producers actually told us that there usually can be a little bit of hostility towards new blood in the soaps, as people like what they know.
"I think there was a little bit of that as in the first week, I saw people online saying, 'Oh, I hate her!' But then things started to get more and more positive.
"The reaction has totally taken us by surprise - we had no idea how they'd be received."
Maddy also hinted that tomboy Nancy will soon be taking centre-stage with a big storyline of her own after supporting her family through their trials and tribulations.
She told Digital Spy: "There are Carter storylines where Nancy has to support the rest of the family coming up sooner, but after that, there'll be a window for Nancy's big storyline."
Quizzed if the storyline will see new secrets about Nancy's past revealed, Maddy added: "What's coming up is more a case of what's going to happen to her, but there aren't any secrets as such."
Tagged in Danny Dyer