Emmerdale's Sian wears wig to avoid public abuse

Emmerdale's Sian wears wig to avoid public abuse
Emmerdale's Sian wears wig to avoid public abuse (Image credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

Sian Reeves wears a Britney Spears-style wig in public to avoid being recognised by Emmerdale fans who confuse her with her deranged character Sally Spode. In the show, Sally is hellbent on splitting up vicar Ashley Thomas (John Middleton) and his wife Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy), and her crazy antics have included setting fire to Laurel's coat and locking her in a burning church. In an interview with the Sun, Sian said: "It's been quite frightening. I've been travelling in a blonde Britney Spears-style wig recently and I look awful, but it doesn't matter, because nobody recognises me and I feel much safer." Since playing the soap psycho, Sian (pictured with Emmerdale co-star James Thornton) has had a pizza delivery man bring her an order with the words 'You're a f*****g b***h', had people move away from her on trains and avoid eye contact in shops. She said one man even ran right up to her. "I was so shocked I just made this terrible noise and ran off to the toilets to put on my wig," she said. The actress attracts a lot of stares when she goes out with pal Charlotte, who plays her nemesis on screen. Sian said: "People come up to Charlotte and say, 'Are you out of your mind? She's after your husband!'" Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk’s weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.