Former EastEnders star Annette Badland has revealed she was effectively forced into hiding after receiving chilling death threats over her villainous alter ego, Babe Smith. The actress, who played the manipulative matriarch between 2014 and 2017, admitted the threats became so serious that BBC security stepped in and warned her to stay out of the public eye.
Death threats traced to public computer
Speaking on the podcast A Night In with Sally Lindsay, Annette looked back on her dramatic EastEnders exit and the shocking reaction it sparked among some viewers. As Babe's reign of terror came to an end, the soap turned up the character's villainy before she was famously thrown out of the Queen Vic by Mick Carter, played by Danny Dyer.
Recalling the storyline, Annette said: 'Because I was leaving, they racked up my villainy and was actually thrown out, literally thrown out of the pub by Danny.' But while Babe's downfall made for memorable television, Annette revealed some viewers struggled to separate the actress from the character. 'But I had death threats. There was a call from the BBC security saying: “We're getting death threats and there are red alert code words in this, so we have to take it seriously.”'
Six weeks of hiding
The threats were taken so seriously that Annette was told to dramatically change her daily routine while investigations were carried out. Speaking further on the podcast, she explained: 'I didn't go out, didn't tell people where I was going, no social media.' The situation lasted for around six weeks while police tried to identify where the messages had come from.
Eventually, investigators were able to narrow the source down to a public computer just outside Liverpool, but hit a dead end. Annette recalled: 'They eventually traced it to just outside Liverpool but it was in a school, they didn't think it was a child but because it was a public computer, they couldn't get much further. It took about six weeks and they just told me not to go out.' The actress joked that the experience left her feeling as though she was under house arrest, with strict instructions not to reveal her whereabouts or make herself an easy target.
Babe Smith's villainous legacy
Annette joined EastEnders in 2014 as Babe Smith, the scheming aunt of Shirley and Tina Carter, and quickly established herself as one of Albert Square's most ruthless residents. Although she helped raise the Carter children after their mother Sylvie abandoned them, Babe harboured years of resentment towards her family. Over the course of her three-year stint, she manipulated those around her, blackmailed several Walford residents and even attempted to kill her own sister by leaving her to drown during a storm.
She also memorably teamed up with Dean Wicks to undermine Shirley Carter, clashed repeatedly with Abi Branning and caused no end of trouble for the Carter family before finally getting her comeuppance. Her exit came in 2017 when Mick Carter discovered the extent of her betrayal and physically threw her out of the Queen Vic, bringing Babe's chaotic time in Walford to an explosive end.
Career beyond EastEnders
While Babe may have been one of EastEnders' most despised villains, Annette has enjoyed a remarkable career spanning more than five decades, becoming one of Britain's most recognisable actresses. Alongside her memorable stint in Walford, she's appeared in a string of hit shows including Ted Lasso, Doctor Who, Midsomer Murders, The Crown, Outlander, Bergerac, Big Boys, The Worst Witch and The Queen's Nose.
