When I played Gabrielle on One Life To Live, I had people interrupt me at restaurants and they were very physical.  Once, I was harrassed by a woman who was very rude; who came up to my mother and said to her, "I bet she was a bitch when she was twelve!" and then started flicking my hair around!  I really felt violated that somebody had actually touched me and hit me.  I was so shocked, because I was not ready for that.  It's all well and good to have people say I watch you and and I want your autograph, but the down-side of it is when people get physical.  Things like that can really ruin your day.

     Now, I'm enjoying the recognition immensely, because when I meet poeple on the street, they seem to know my name.  It's a very warm feeling because it means my work has touched them to the point where they read the credits to find out who it was that played the role.

     I seem to have these encounters in the strangest places, and being recognized in the toilet in the ladies restroom is the most unusual place I can think of!  I don't think anyone's topped that one since!

     Fiona Hutchison (JENNA) is about to trade in her lacy lingerie for long johns.  The actress tells SOAP OPERA MAGAZINE that her problems began a few years ago while playing GABRIELLE on OLTL.  "I was sharing an apartment with a friend in New York and we didn't have a washer or a dryer, so I took my clothes to the landromat.  A bunch of college kids were there who recognized me, so we chatted awhile.  Then I went outside to put money in the parking meter, and when I went back in all my unmentionables were gone!"  Fiona figured having her clothes dry cleaned would put an end to the teddytherfts, but she figured wrong.  "My lingerie keeps dissapearing, piece by piece!" she laments.  "And changing dry cleaners doesn't seem to help."

    Fans come in all shapes and sizes, as Fiona Hutchison well knows.  How does she deal with them?  Hutchison just lets them believe what they want to believe -- but for completely different reasons.

    "I was in New Hampshire a while ago, and a little boy came up to me and said 'There's Gabrielle, who's now Jenna Bradshaw'.  And I thought, "this little guy is only seven or eight, and he knows [I'm a real person].  We work very hard at this.'  He said, "What are you doing here?  "Well, I'm saying hello to you.'  'But you're supposed to be inside the TV.  What are you doing outside the TV?  Don't you want to live there anymore?'  I said, 'I only live inside the TV for a short time.'  And I thought, "God his mother's going to kill me for confirming the fact that he thinks that I live inside the TV!.'"

    And then there's the flip side.  "I was on the subway going down to a play, and there were these two guys.  One was saying, 'Hey man, that's Gabrielle."  And the other was saying, 'No that ain't Gabrielle, man.  Gabrielle was hot!  That girl ain't hot.'  Because I had no makeup on, and I looked really bad in my sweatpants and hat over my head.  And I thought, 'Should I go over there and say "Well yes, as a matter of fact.... But then I thought, "Don't spoil this guy's image of me.  At least I'm hot somewhere.'"

     While most soap stars welcome attention from viewers and autograph seekers, there's also a frighteneing flip side to fame.  Whether it's the actions of a deranged stalker, a mob of overzelous supporters or bizzarre correspondence through the mail, fan behavior can be threatening.  Are actresses more at risk than their male counterparts?  "There's definitely a difference in strength between a strong soap stud an an actress," Fiona Hutchison concedes.  "Female fans can be extremely obsessed over a male soap star, but bodily danger seems far more likely if you have an obsessed male fan."

     There's a distint difference between normal soap fans and the obsessive variety.  "There are people that can't separate reality from the show," Hutchison relates.  Whether it's lust or anger, Hucthison says fans cross the line when they take it out on a character's portrayer.  "I've had people spit in my face while I'm eating at a restaurant," Hutchison says.  "Even if they just have a simple cold, I'd rather not catch one that way."

     Like most actresses, Hutchison tries not to worry about dangerous fans.  But memories of [Andrea] Evans's stalker still haunt her.  "Ill never forget one experience in which he got into the studio lobby.  he jumped on Andrea, and my husband and a friend of ours actually had to pull him off her.  He never should have been allowed anywhere near her.  We all have to be careful," she says.  "We have to be very careful."