Stacey Dooley confession: 'People tell me to f*** off all the time!'

Stacey Dooley returns to TV screens tonight with the ‘EastEnders’ documentary series ‘Secrets from the Square’. The self-professed superfan will take audiences through some of the stories behind the 35-year-old show’s most memorable TV moments. In the past, the BBC star has made documentaries about muslim extremism, the difficulties within Northern Ireland, child labour and more. Stacey revealed that as she worked on a number of those shows she faced a lot of abuse from the public. 

Stacey, now 33, claimed her unique selling point (USP) was her “sympathy” and that often interviewees are fooled by her “naive” demeanour. 

She claimed to have learned to avoid the “polite and mundane” questions and instead “be brave” and ask those on the “tip of [her] tongue”, according to a 2017 Guardian article. 

The TV star said: “ Sometimes, you’re cringing inside. But you can’t have people screaming at the screen the question you didn’t have the balls to ask.

“People can tell you to eff off and do all the time. If you tried to avoid people telling you to eff off you’d never get a decent interview.”

Stacey explained that there have only been a handful of times where she felt truly at risk during her career.

One of those terrifying moments happened in Northern Iraq where she explained the crew were “so close to the frontline” – to make a piece about girls who had fled their home nations to join ISIS.

She said: “It’s surreal… Half of you is desperate to be there because as many people as possible need to understand these girls.

“The other half wants to run in the opposite direction. When you hear shots, you think, ‘My worst nightmare is going to happen’.”

In another ‘The Billion Pound Party’, Stacey discovered that a number of DUP voters do not support anti-abortion or anti-gay marriage policies. 

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She claimed they had been voting tactically in a bid to keep Sinn Fein away and “Britishness in”. 

Stacey received “tons of feedback”on that programme and allegedly “p***** off” both Sinn Fein and the DUP in the process. 

While they were filming, the crew also noticed graffiti on the walls in Belfast, instructing the BBC to leave.

But the star believed this meant they “probably got it right” and struck a perfect balance within the documentary. 

She said: “If you p*** off both sides, you’re somewhere in the middle, which is where you want to be.”

Stacey Dooley stars in ‘EastEnders: Secrets from the Square’, which broadcasts on June 22 and June 23 at 8PM on BBC One.

source: express.co.uk